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in South China 









Mountain View, California. 



Dear Boys and Girls: 

It seems just like day before yesterday, in a 
way, when I was fourteen. I used to get 100, 90, 
and even 75 at times, in history, spelling, English, 
and geography. 

Of course I would have got more 100 f s in the 
three last-named subjects if I had had such books as 
"Hurue," "Up and Down the Andes," "At Home with the 
Hakkas in South China," and the other fine, helpful 
travel books like these, that the publishers are 
preparing for you. 

My, I wish I were fourteen again! I surely 
would start a little library of these 25-cent book- 
lets, and add to them every three months, as each 
new one appears. 

A man who knows all about this Wide World 
Series of books told me that manuscripts from Malay- 
sia, Burma, Palestine, Borneo, and the Punjab, 
wherever that is, are already in hand. Whew! imag- 
ine what a fine collection they will make, in their 
uniform size, three-color covers, illustrated in- 
sides, and best of all, the absolutely true stories 
from our missionary friends. 

Get them, read them, observe the correct Eng- 
lish, and the spelling too, and of course fix the 
places in mind; and see if you don't get more 100' s 
on your report cards in the future. 

Yes, I wish I were fourteen again! Good-by. 

Your friend, 

U. Readmore 
P. S. These books are 30 cents in Canada. 



AT HOME WITH 

THE HAKKAS 



IN SOUTH CHINA 




By Sherman A. Nagel 



Number Four 

of the 

'Wide World Series'" 



MCMXXI 

PRINTED IN U. S. A. 



PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA 

Kansas City, Missouri Portland, Oregon St. Paul, Minnesota 

Cristobal, Canal Zone 



D 



^nio 



fit 



COPYRIGHT 

1921 

Pacific Press Publishing 

Association 



^C!.A653397 

JAN -3 1922 



CONTENTS 



A Foreword ........... 5 

On Shipboard 7 

First Impressions 14 

Geography 21 

Home Life 26 

China's Language 34 

The Religions of China 39 

Government 45 

Traveling in China 53 

Our Mission Work 62 



A Foreword 

Mrs. Nagel and I were asked to go to China in 1909. We have 
given twelve of the best years of our life in service to the Chinese 
people. A few minutes ago I finished my birthday dinner. I still 
feel and, some say, I act like a boy, though I am thirty-four. My 
own children — Florence, aged ten, and Sherman, aged six — with 
Elder J. P. Anderson's two little girls, Helen and Hazel, have just 
iven me the usual birthday whipping. 

When I was home on furlough five years ago, I visited numerous 
churches in the Western States, and spoke on China from Spokane 
to San Diego. By invitation, I talked also to many boys and girls 
in both public and church schools. When I began these lectures, I 
was at a loss to know what people wished to learn about this great 
Eastern country ; so I followed the plan of permitting all who wished 
tb do so to ask all the questions they could think of. I answered all 
I was able ; and in this way, I soon found out what boys and girls 
wished to learn about China. 

In the following chapters, I shall try again to answer some of 
your questions. Let me tell you one I was seldom able to answer. 
Many would ask me, "Did you see my sister Mary in China ?" or, 
''Did you meet my uncle over there?" Remember that China is a 
big country — as large as the United States; and I have traveled 
over only a small part of it. What I shall tell you concerns chiefly 
South China. 

iYou have heard, perhaps, of the high-school girl who, on her 
raduation day, said to her father, "Papa, there is only one thing I 
cannot understand ; and that is, I do not know how my little head can 
hold so much knowledge." After one has gone on and studied a 
few years longer, one finds there is a great deal yet to learn. So it 
is in China. When I had been four years over here, I thought I knew 
all about China,— its language, people, history, et cetera. When I 
had spent four years more, I began to think there was a little I did 
not know ; and now, after four more years, I feel that there is really 
little I do know. I am doubtful if the Westerner ever, comes really 
to understand the Easterner. 

(5) 



Page 6 FOREWORM 

However, I have tried to tell you what you may expect to see anl 
experience when you come out to labor in South China. I have nl 
doubt but many of you, as soon as you have sufficient preparation 
will come over and help us. It is most encouraging to see growinl 
among our youth such an interest in our mission work. 

And this is as it should be. The same love that dwelt in the gre J 
heart of Jesus for lost men and women dwells in the heart of each of 
His true followers. God had only one Son ; but He made Him I 
preacher, and sent Him as a missionary to a foreign land. There is 
a great difference between God's light and heathen darkness. Theil 
is a great difference between America and China. But the differenJ 
is not so great as that between the place Jesus left in heaven and thl 
sinful old world. No one can measure the distance from the top of 
His throne to the bottom of His cross. 

"Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Yes — a Savioil 
of men. Can any good thing come out of China? Yes — marl 
loyal followers of the Man of Nazareth. May this little book hel 
you to give yourself to find them ! 

Sherman A. Nagel. 

Waichow, Kwangtung, China, June 9, 1921. 



I ■ A 

1 H 1 

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- T 

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S. S. "MINNESOTA," 
on which many of our missionaries have crossed the Pacific 



Vt Home with the Hakkas in South China 



CHAPTER ONE 

On Shipboard 

BORN on the prairie at Forman, Sargent County, North Dakota, 
it was not until I was twelve years old that I saw mountains, 
t that age, father moved his family out to Oregon. Right at the 
ery top of the Rockys, we had a wreck. Our train collided w r ith 
nother. It was wintertime ; and for forty-eight hours we waited, 
ntil a wrecking crew could clear away the broken cars and repair 
le track so that we could go on. During this time, with snow piled 
eep everywhere, I studied the mountains to my heart's content. I 
;ave never forgotten the impression these great witnesses to God's 
:ower made upon my young mind. 

But the mountains did not give me the sensation the ocean did 
hen I viewed it for the first time. It was a great sight to me to 
se the blue water as far as the eye could reach, and hear the tireless 

(7) 






Page 8 AT HOME WITH THS- 

breakers dashing against the rocky shore. There is something abou 
both mountains and ocean which causes man to have a very humbl 
opinion of himself and think more of the greatness of God. Ther 
is no grander sight anywhere than to see the ocean in a storm. 

Looking out across the wide Pacific that first time, I little dreamec 
that some day, not so many years hence, I should be on a great steam 
ship journeying over the ocean as a herald of the third angel's mes 
sage to our neighbors on the opposite shore. But such was God' 
plan for me. I am writing now from over here on this side of th 
world. It is not quite six o'clock, and the sun is just coming up i 
the eastern sky. 

Another sight that thrilled me as a youth was the first oceai 
liner I ever saw pulling up to a wharf. I had never seen any boa 
larger than a rowboat before. The morning was very foggy. 1 
man on the dock kept blowing his foghorn as a guide to the pilot, an 
soon we heard the pilot answer away ofif in the distance. We could 
tell, by the sound of his horn, that they were coming nearer; but 
they were right upon us before we discovered them in the fog. My ! 
How big that first boat looked ! 

I must tell you just a little of my early school experience and how 
I came to go to China. My mother has told us many times of how 
she gave us all to God for His work. In North Dakota, we were 
almost the only members of our church in the county where we 
lived ; so we had no church school. Mother taught us at home for 
a while, but finally sent us to the public school. My two younger 
brothers and I w r ere at times the only Sabbath-keepers attending the 
school ; and we had a cross to bear, I tell you. Because we tried tc 
live the truth, the other students did many things to make life un- 
pleasant for us. But we followed the instruction of our godly 
mother, and received God's blessing. 

It was partly so that we children could attend our" own , school 
that my parents moved to Milton, Oregon. No one ever had bettei 
parents than I had, and they did their best to see that I had a train- 
ing for the cause of God. Milton is but a short distance from Col 
lege Place, Washington; and it was not long till I was in Walk 
Walla College. While there, I naturally began to wonder what 
should do in life; and I finally decided that I should become a doctor 



-, 



'AKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 9 

But I think my mother had other plans for me ; and now that I am 
in the ministry, I am sure God had. 

After attending Walla Walla a number of years, I went to 
Union College, at College View, Nebraska ; and from there, I went 
to Loma Linda. We received blessed instruction and enjoyed good 
times during those early days at Loma Linda. I shall never cease to 

(hank God for the godly teachers who were then at that school. 
In 1908, I married a young lady I became acquainted with in 
[Union," — Miss Mary Hansen. We spent our first summer with 
Elder Luther Warren at the Los Angeles mission, and in the fall 
returned to Loma Linda. I took some medical studies and did some 
teaching. The thought of ever going to a foreign field as a mis- 
sionary had at that time never entered my mind. 

But one day, Dr. A. C. Selmon came to Loma Linda. He had 
then been several years in China, being one of our very first mis- 
sionaries to go there. He was home on a furlough, and was looking 
for helpers for the work in China. He asked wife and me if we 
would go. I replied that we were willing to be anywhere God 
wanted us, but the idea of going to China had never occurred to me. 
Mrs. Nagel had said from childhood, that she was some day going 
to be a missionary in China. However, I did not know this. 

The doctor soon left, going on to Washington, and we thought 
no more about it. Finishing the school year, we went to my home 
in Oregon. One day, we were all greatly surprised to receive a 
letter from father in which he said, "I see by the Reviezv that Sher- 
man is going to China." I hunted up a copy of that paper ; and sure 
enough, I read, "S. A. Nagel and wife to China." About three 
weeks after this, we received a letter from Elder Spicer asking us 
if we would go, and stating that the Mission Board desired us to be 
ready to sail in October. 

Since Dr. Selmon had first spoken to us about going, several 
things 'had transpired which to man seemed to make it utterly im- 
possible for us to sail then. But we were honest with God and 
prayed earnestly for His guidance. Were it not such a long story, 
I should like to tell you of how God overruled, and how He opened 
the way so that we could come to China. We have never had a 
doubt but that it was His will we should come to China to labor for 



Page io AT HOME WITH THE 



souls. God will so guide all of you if you will follow the rule H 
has given: "Yield your will to the will of the Master, do the dut) 
w T hich lies nearest, and then watch the indications of His providence. 

It was not an easy task to tell father and mother, brothers anc 
sister, and the home church, good-by. I confess that the tear 
flowed freely. I shall not forget the parting service in the churcl 
when the brethren and sisters gathered to shake our hands and bic 
us farewell. Their eyes were as red as ours. China looked a lon^ 
way off then. It was a strange land with a strange people and Ian 
guage. In those days, there were not so many books about Chin; 
as now. We had very few missionaries, and people were not so wel 
informed as they are now. We knew little of what to expect. 

One day found us in Vancouver waiting our time of sailing 
We then learned that there was to be a good-sized party of us. 
think there were seventeen, counting the children. Some have sine 
returned to the States for various reasons, but four families are stil 
in China. These are Dr. Selmon and wife, in Shanghai ; Brother 
O. A. Hall and wife, also of Shanghai ; Brother Fred Lee and wife, 
of Peking; and Mrs. Nagel and I, here among the Hakkas at Wai 
chow. Brother Harold Oberg was also a member of this party, an 
he is yet working faithfully over in Korea. 

Our boat was so crowded that many husbands and wives had to 
be separated on shipboard. Women were put together in one cabin 
and men in another. Brother Hall and I were in a cabin with a 
Japanese and a one-eyed doctor. Of course, we saw our families 
at meals and on deck. 

We left Vancouver on Friday afternoon. That evening, we 
planned for Sabbath school to be held next day. Teachers were 
appointed, and everything was arranged for the service. But next 
morning, no one appeared for meeting. Why ? I will tell you : 
From Vancouver across the sound to Victoria, the water is quiet, and 
so we all felt fine. But shortly before daybreak, we entered the 
Pacific, and began to toss and roll in the large breakers. I jumped 
out of my berth, dressed quickly, and ran up on deck. Something 
seemed to tell me that an abundance of fresh air was best for sea- 
sickness, 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page u 



In the darkness, I stumbled upon Brother Lee and wife, who had 
reached deck ahead of me. "Good morning, Fred/' I said. "I don't 
feel like saying Good morning," was his reply. He had a sorry 
time with seasickness nearly all the way across. Let me tell you 
that seasickness is something very nearly all who sail the seas have 
at times. Neither wife nor I was sick this voyage; and it was a 
lucky thing we were not, for there were several babies to look after. 
But we have both been seasick many times since. 

It is one of the most awful feelings one can experience. For- 
tunately very few ever have any lasting effects from it, and gen- 
erally it lasts only the first two or three days out. Then you get 
your "sea legs," and your stomach ceases to rise up in your throat 
when the ship glides down on a big wave. Some one has said that 
there are two distinct sensations to seasickness. The first is that 
you are afraid you are going to die ; and the second, you are afraid 
you won't die ! A few times, I have felt so ill from these awkward 
motions of the boat, that I could almost wish to die and have it over. 
This is the usual beginning of missionary hardships. You must 
experience it to understand it. If you have ever been sick from 
swinging too high, you know something of how it feels. This sick- 
ness does not spare any class, rich or poor, old or young, except the 
very young. Strange, babies do not seem to mind the big waves. 

Many stories are told of supposed remedies for seasickness. I 
remember hearing one of our oldest workers tell of a lady who, 
when a fellow passenger had tried almost everything, advised him to 
[fasten a poultice of hops over his stomach. He did so. Next morn- 
ing, she inquired how he felt ; and he replied, "Everything has come 
up but the hops, madam, and I fear they will come up next." The 
best remedy is to keep on deck, where the air is fresh, as much as 
possible. Take all the exercise you are able. Force yourself to walk 
the deck. When you sit down, put your steamer chair as near the 
center of the boat as you can get it. Make yourself eat, and soon it 
will all be over, and you will wear the smile of victory. 

Then you will begin to enjoy the rough sea. Riding up one big 
wave and down another will be only sport. Time will not seem long, 
with your books, deck games, and the many opportunities you can 
make to tell fellow passengers the message of a soon-coming Sav- 






Page 12 AT HOME WITH THE 

iour. If you use wisdom, you can find many openings to witness 
for Jesus. On one trip to San Francisco, after I had been asked by 
the captain to preach in the drawing-room on Sunday, the people re- 
quested me to hold daily Bible studies in the parlor, which I did all 
the way across. 

For a missionary is one every day, on shipboard as well as on the 
land. He must be ready to witness "in season and out of season." 
He must be sociable, courteous, and humble. He must be a Christian 
gentleman. His daily life must be a silent power for good. The 
world to-day knows what Seventh-day Adventists profess, and they 
expect us to live it out in our lives in our daily intercourse with them. 
Everything we do is watched and is open to criticism. Especially 
is this true on a ship, or wherever many people are close together 
for a long time. 

They will watch to see if you live out our principles in the dining 
saloon. Here is one place where it takes a Daniel. I know, from 
experience, that it is possible even aboard ship not to sacrifice our 
health principles. It is not necessary to eat unhealthful and stimu-l 
lating food, nor is it necessary to eat flesh food. A blessing will 
come with obedience. If we prepare for it, and fully make up our 
minds to do right, we can do so anywhere. 

We had a terrible storm before we reached Yokohama. I th j 
all of us were a bit anxious. One day, we all gathered in one of tiJ< 
cabins for prayer. As we rose from our knees, I looked out the 
porthole, and I saw, for just a minute, God's rainbow of promise 
stretched across the sky. I felt that our prayers were answered, and! 
great peace and trust filled my heart. In a short time, the storm 
was over. The captain said it was the worst storm his ship had ever 
passed through. 

On one trip that I made, the waves were high one night, and the 
captain ordered the stateroom windows closed. I obeyed for a time 
and kept my porthole shut ; but as the room was stuffy, I finally arose 
and opened it. I went to sleep, and was awakened by a great wave 
striking our side of the ship. I opened my eyes in time to see the 
ocean pouring into my room. I jumped up quickly and closed the 
window, but several inches of salt water already covered the floor 
My trunks and suit cases were afloat. I put them up on anothet 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA ' Page 13 

berth, and crawled back into mine. For hours, that water splashed 
back and forth in my room. Where it went at last, I never knew. 
Daylight showed things in a frightful state. The rug on the floor 
was red, and as I walked around on it in the night, the color ad- 
hered to my feet, and my bed sheets and blankets were covered with 

I red splashes. How the Chinese cabin boy scolded when he came in 
to bring me my early orange ! He said the captain would certainly 
be angry. I reached him a half dollar, and he smiled and cleaned 
the room up. Everything had to be hauled up on deck to dry. After 

; that experience, I never disobeyed the captain's orders. 

One time, I was in a small steamer riding up the coast. It was 

I the roughest ride I ever had ; but fortunately I was not seasick. 
Becoming hungry, I crept from the place where I had been lying on 
the deck, to the officer's cabin, and asked for something to eat. 
"Eat !" exclaimed the captain. "Nobody ever eats on this boat." I 

] think he told the truth. As it is only a one-day run, and nearly 

[ everybody aboard gets seasick, no one is expected to eat. One has 
to hang on to something every moment, for fear of being pitched 
overboard. 

Six years ago I was in a worse storm — a three-day typhoon 
between Manila and Kobe. We had to turn and run before the 

j wind. But my most exciting experience on board a ship was during 

> the great war. The captain ordered all lights out, for enemy war- 
ships were in those waters. He had also ordered the life belts on. 
Some people neglected to obey this last order, and the captain said 
to them : "If this ship is struck with a torpedo, it will then be too late 
for you to go to your cabin for your life belts. When the lifeboat 
is lowered, we shall not wait for you." How true this is in our 
Christian experience ! "Now is the day of salvation." Now is the 
time to put on the life belt. Now is the time to make sure. When 
danger comes, it will then be too late. Make ready NOW. 



Page 14 



AT HOME WITH THE 




SIGNS OF THE TIMES PUBLISHING HOUSE, SHANGHAI 



CHAPTER TWO 



First Impressions 

I MUST now tell you of how China appears to the new missionary. 
It has taken from fifteen to twenty-four days to cross the Pacific, 
according to the boat you were on. Some are very swift, making 
the run from Vancouver to China in fifteen days. The boat we were 
on was slower, taking twenty-four days. The boats leaving San 
Francisco take about the same time, only they go via Honolulu. All 
lines touch at several ports in Japan. 

The first port of call in China is Shanghai. This city is not on 
the coast, but is up a river some twelve miles or more. The largest 
ocean liners do not go up the river, but anchor out at its mouth. 
Here we were met by a small boat. To welcome us were Dr. Miller, 
Brother Winslow, Brother Roberts, Sister B. Miller, and others. 

I think it unfortunate that the missionary gets his first impres- 
sions of China from Shanghai, for this beautiful city is not China. 
True, there are many thousands of Chinese there; but it is owned 
and governed by foreign powers, and is a model city in most respects. 
Here you see every modern convenience. You notice the wide, paved 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 15 

streets, the electric cars, the railroads, the running water, the fine 
brick houses, the gas stoves in the kitchens, and the electric lights, 
and you can hardly think that this is the China you had expected to 
see. Motor cars run everywhere, and now and then an airplane 
flies overhead. No, surely this is not China ! 

We lived several months here, waiting for a definite appoint- 
ment. While we spent much time each day in language study, we 
thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Shanghai. Here are located our 
headquarters for all Asia, also the headquarters of the East China 
Union. Here we have a college, a printing plant, and a sanitarium. 
More than thirty families of our missionaries live here — that is, if 
people who live in Shanghai can be called by that name. Those who 
live in China proper sometimes think and say that, because of the 
pleasant, modern surroundings in Shanghai, those who live there 
can bear the title of missionary only when they strike ofif for a trip 
into the interior. I would as willingly live in Shanghai as any place 
in the world. 

Yet here we noticed some things not to be seen in an American 
city. At that time, the Chinese men still wore their hair in a braid 
down their backs, and shaved the front part of their heads. This 
custom changed after the revolution ten years ago. In some sec- 
tions, it is still followed. We observed that our neighbor kept a 
gander for a watchdog; and a very good one it made, too. The 
women hobbling around on their tiny bound feet, and the lepers ly- 
ing along the street begging, were sad sights. The odors from the 
shops were not always the most refreshing; and riding in a ricksha, 
with a man for a horse, was a novel way to travel about town. It 
took us a long time to accustom ourselves to seeing women wearing 
trousers, like men. 

Then there were the boats on the river, with large eyes painted 
on the bow, to enable them to travel in the channel. There were 
horrid gods in the temples, with their incense sticks always burning. 
The peculiar sounds of the coolies as they carried their burdens 
from a pole over the shoulder attracted our attention, as did the 
queer-looking signboards along the street. These are some of the 
things you will notice first as you step from your boat and travel 
about Shanghai. 



Page 16 AT HOME WITH THE 

Here we met an old missionary who had been in China over fifty 
years. He told us that when he came over, he did so in a sailing ship 
and was six months making the trip. I thought of how God had ful- 
filled the prophecy of Daniel that in the last days, knowledge should 
be increased, in order that God's work might the sooner be finished. 
Now everything is ready. The world is open to receive the gospel. 
There are few places where we cannot freely go. The Bible having 
been translated into most of the important languages, anyone can 
know the will of God. Means of travel are provided; and yearly 
more and more of our young, strong men and women are going out 
into the harvest field to help finish the work quickly. 

Finally it was decided that we should locate in South China and 
labor . for the Hakka-speaking people. The weather was still cold 
when we left Shanghai in February, but it became warm enough as 
we neared Hongkong. Having cargo for Swatow, we stopped there 
en route. We arrived on Chinese New Year's day. All the coolies 
had gone off home for a vacation, and there was no one to load or 
unload the boat. So we remained here five days. Our ship was a 
small coast trader, and we were the only passengers. On the deck 
were several hundred sheep. Now that the weather was warm, the 
smells from the sheep deck were anything but pleasant. We had no 
mission work then in the Swatow dialect, and there was no one there 
whom we knew. We spent the five days getting better acquainted 
with the sights of China, -and roaming over the hills across the bay. 
Now we have a fine mission compound in Swatow, and several hun- 
dred believers in that language area. 

From Swatow, we passed on to the British colony of Hongkong. 
This is a small island at the mouth of the Pearl River. On this 
island is Victoria, a city of 400,000 people. Most of them are Chi- 
nese; but there are thousands of Portuguese, English, Americans, 
and Japanese. In fact, people from almost every country may be 
seen there. Like Shanghai, Hongkong has most modern improve- 
ments. In its beautiful harbor, one can usually see more than fifty 
ocean-going steamships. All transpacific boats begin and end their 
voyage here. It is the gateway to South China. 

Up the Pearl River from Hongkong about eighty miles is Can- 
ton, the second city in size in China, with its large floating popula- 



I 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 17 



tion, thousands living in boats on the river. Here we took leave of 
our boat, and our mission life in China began. It was here that 
Morrison in 1807 began mission work for the Chinese. At that 
time, it looked like such a difficult task to reach the Chinese with the 
gospel, that a New York shipowner in whose vessel he sailed said 
sneeringly, "And so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect that you will 
make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese empire ?" 
"No, sir," Morrison replied; "I expect God will!" It is said that 




A TYPICAL RIVER SCENE 



Canton has two million people, and that you will see them all the 
first day. Certainly great throngs walk the streets of this city. 

.Although we were appointed to the Hakka land, it was a year 
before we were able to go there to live. No houses could be ob- 
tained, and the mission had not at that time begun to build homes 
tfor the missionaries. The two houses that were afterwards built at 
Waichowwere the first built from the fund raised ten years ago for 
this purpose. In the meantime, we lived at Canton and Macao, 
helping in any way we could, and with a native teacher, studying 
the Hakka language. 

Living in Canton at that time were Elder J. N. Anderson, 
Brother George Harlow and wife, Brother Wilbur and family, and 
Sister Ida Thompson. These all lived in native houses. We shared 



Page 18 AT HOME WITH THE 

with Brother Harlow the upper story of a better class Chinese house. 
The lower story was occupied by a Chinese family, together with 
their pigs and chickens. 

Great changes have taken place in Canton since the revolution 
that made China a republic ten years ago. Its old city wall has been 
torn down, and many of its narrow streets have been widened. Old 
shops have been removed, and modern store buildings have been 
erected. One of them is twelve stories high. Our mission now 
owns its own property there, with homes, schools, and church 
buildings. 

At last, we succeeded in buying a piece of land just outside the 
Little East Gate at Waichow, and Brother J. P. Anderson built his 
house. Then we moved up and lived in part of his while ours was 
being erected. Here I am in this home now ; and I must stop writ- 
ing so much history, and tell you the things you are anxious to learn 
about China. 

While building our houses, we learned much of Chinese charac- 
ter. We noticed that some men were cutting down the trees on our 
property. When caught, they said, to defend their action, "We sold 
you the land, but we did not sell you the trees on it." The work- 
men had to be watched every moment, or they would put in mud for 
lime, or put rice water in the tar with which we were painting the 
board fence, or else they would cleverly put together several pieces 
of wood and sell it for one solid board. General Grant said, after 
his trip around the world, that the funniest sight he saw was a Chi- 
nese beating a Jew at a bargain. We have a saying that "Honesty 
is the best policy/' but the heathen Chinese thinks that "Falsehood 
is the best policy." He never tells the truth unless he cannot get out 
of it. He always has the truth stored away back in his head to use 
if necessary. 

"We observed that the Chinese do many things just the opposite 
of the way we do them. The carpenter draws his plane toward 
himself. The goats and the cows are milked on the left side. The 
people scratch their matches by pushing them along the side of the 
box. They shake their own hands when meeting a friend, instead 
of shaking the friend's hand. The left-hand chair is the seat of 
honor. They read from the back of the book toward the front, and 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 19 

up and down, instead of from left to right. When they address a 
letter, they put the person's name last on the envelope. When they 
hand you anything, they do so with both hands instead of one ; and 
you must receive it with both hands. In writing a man's name, they 
write the surname first, and the given name afterwards. The cook, 
in paring vegetables, pushes the knife away from her. If a man is 
kind to his wife, and helps her a bit about the house, all the neigh- 
bors will laugh at him. When two men meet in China, the younger 
will quickly remove his glasses instead of his hat, for it would not 
be good manners to look at his elder through glass. 

So many things are different, one must learn to "think yellow." 
The first year or two, everything is strange, you see much to write 
about, and your letters are very interesting to the home folk ; but as 
you live longer out here, you don't see these differences any more. 
You fall into the habit of doing many things as the Chinese do, and 
that seems the proper way. 

China is commonly spoken of as "the Hundred Surnames." 
There are only so many in all China. There are more Wongs in 
China than there are Smiths in all the world. The Chinese often 
speak of themselves as "All Under Heaven." As you no doubt 
know, it was not until recent years that foreigners were welcome 
in China. Even yet we are often called "foreign devils." They 
have some queer names for other countries. France they call "the 
country of law." The English they call "the red-haired people." 
Cement is called "red-haired dirt," as it first came from England. 
America they call "the beautiful country," or more often "the coun- 
t y with the flowery flag." 

It is good manners in China, when in conversation, to exalt the 
c tie you are speaking to, and speak very slightingly of yourself. 
This is well if not carried too far. They think it very polite to ask 
fliany personal questions about a guest. How old are you ? Where 
vere you born? How many sons have you? Is your father liv- 
ing ? How much salary do you receive ? Have you eaten yet ? How 
much did your shoes cost? These are examples of very common 
questions everyone will ask. 

A sample conversation may begin as follows : My visitor asks, 
Have you eaten rice ?" I reply : "Thank you, I have eaten. It was 



J^TTo AT H0ME WITH THE 



very rude of me to eat before you." "What is your honorable 
name?" I answer, "My inferior name is 'Na' !" "What is your 
precious given name?" I tell him, "My humble name is Ki Li. 
"From what great country did you come?" "My good-for-nothing 
country is America." "How many golden sons have you ?" "I haw 
one very inferior son." "Your mission compound is very beautiful. 
"No, it'is not pretty. It is not good to look at." Then he may re- 
verse "How many days were you aboard ship on your way to my 
very poor country?" I reply, "I reached your most exalted country 
in twenty-four days." And so you go on. Is it any wonder that 
people are often misunderstood in China? 

The Chinese think we have no manners, and we are certain they 
have none. When they come to visit you, they never knock, but 
walk right in. They will not go behind a doorway that has a cur- 
tain ; for in their own homes, they put a curtain over the door to 
show that the room beyond belongs to women and is therefore 
private. Otherwise they, will run all over the house, handle what 
they like, and ask many foolish questions. If they can find the stair- 
way you may expect them to hurry upstairs. They have heard that 
foreigners sleep up there, and our beds are a great curiosity. You 
know the Chinese sleep on two boards. They will crawl under our 
beds, examine all with care, and by so doing, think they show re- 
spect to us. It is only a different way of looking at things, that is 
all Our iron stove in the kitchen is a great wonder, and the pump 
and the sink are others. A whole Chinese kitchen outfit — three 
clay stoves, clay kettles, frying pan, in fact, all they use in prepar- 
ing a meal — you could buy for two dollars. There are some Chi- 
nese of the better class to whom this would not apply. 

' One needs a great deal of patience in China. And you must be 
filled with the love of Tesus to keep sweet, if you ever expect to be 
a help to these people. We are not here to change their customs — 
the ones which are not sinful ; therefore we must adapt ourselves to 
the Chinese way of doing things. It is not necessary to wear Chinese 
clothing any more, as many of them now dress as we do. 

I shall speak later of many good traits in Chinese character 
Here are millions of God's children who do not know Him, and whc 
have no hope of a Saviour. 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 21 



CHAPTER THREE 
Geography 

THE name for China in their own language is "Middle King- 
dom" ; or, to translate it out in full, it is "the Middle Flowery 
Republic. " China proper is divided into eighteen provinces, or 
states. Besides these, there are four dependencies, — Manchuria, 
Mongolia, Tibet, and Turkestan. These make, all together, a total 
of 4,283,170 square miles. For the sake of comparison, I will give 
you the area of the United States, including Alaska and the Hawaiian 
Islands, which is 3,624,122 square miles. So you see that China is 
much larger than our own country. 

In round numbers, China ha9 400,000,000 people, while the 
United States has only a little over 100,000,000. Every fourth child 
born into the world is born into a Chinese home. In some sections, 
China averages over six hundred people to every square mile of 
territory. 

Then China is a very old country. "When Moses led the Is- 
raelites through the wilderness, Chinese laws and literature and Chi- 
nese religious knowledge excelled that of Egypt. A hundred years 
before the north wind rippled over the harp of David, Wung Wang, 
an emperor of China, composed classics which are committed to 
memory at this day by every advanced scholar of the empire. While 
Homer was composing and singing the Iliad, China's blind minstrels 
were celebrating her ancient heroes, whose tombs had already been 
with them through nearly thirteen centuries. Her literature was 
fully developed before England was invaded by the Norman con- 
querors. The Chinese invented firearms as early a,s the reign of 
England's first Edward, and the art of printing five hundred years 
before Caxton was born. They made paper a. d. 150, and gun- 
powder about the beginning of the Christian era. Two thousand 
years ago. the forefathers of the present Chinese sold silks to the 
Romans, and dressed in these fabrics when the inhabitants of the 
British Isles wore coats of blue paint and fished in willow canoes. 
Her great wall was built two hundred and twenty years before Christ 



Page 22 AT HOME WITH THE\ 

was born in Bethlehem, and contains material enough to build a 
wall five or six feet high around the globe. " 

Thus the Chinese are seen to be the most numerous and the most 
enduring race in the world. Of all peoples of ancient history, only 
the Jews and the Chinese survive; but the Jews have lost country, 
language, and nationality, while to the Chinese these remain. The 
historic records of China extend back almost to the time of the, 
Flood, many years before the pyramids were built in Egypt. The 
Chinese emperor Yu reigned eight centuries before the time of 
Moses. Although subjugated by Genghis Khan in the thirteenth] 
century and by the Manchus in the seventeenth, yet the Chinesej 
have kept their religion, government, language, and customs, and in 
the end, absorbed their conquerors. All must agree that the Chinese! 
are one of the most gifted divisions of the human family. 

No country in the world has more large rivers than China ; and 
as there are few railroads and wagon roads, the rivers form the! 
principal means of communication. From my study window, I can 
look out over the East River, where daily hundreds of sailboats and 
a few small steamers pass up and down. South China is very 
mountainous, the people living down in the many narrow valleys 
along the rivers. I am doubtful if one could go anywhere in South 
China where one would be out of sight of mountains. 

China has many beautiful, fragrant flowers and sweet-singing 
birds. In some places, nature is lovely, and we are reminded of the 
words of the song, "Every prospect pleases, and only man is vile." 
Our home surroundings are very attractive. In front is the river. 
To the east is a little lake, the banks of which are covered with tall 
bamboos that wave like great ostrich plumes in every breeze. Behind 
is a low hill covered with trees of different kinds and a pear or- 
chard. West of us is Waichow city wall, with only a narrow road 
between it and our compound. Opposite us is a gate called "the 
Convenient Little Gate," through which we enter the city. The 
wall is of brick, and is about twenty-five feet high. Across the 
river is a chain of high mountains. When inside our compound, we 
almost forget that we are in China. 

In South China, for half of the year, it is very warm and we 
wear white clothing. The other six months, we wear our woolen 



1.HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 23 

suits. We seldom have frosts in the winter; and I have seen it 
snow only two or three times, and then but a very little fell. May, 
June, and July are the most trying months, for this is the rainy 
season. Rain falls in other months of the year; but during these 
three, it pours nearly every day. The intense moisture, with the 
heat, makes one feel very lazy. Many things spoil at this time of 

§the year. 

Unless your clothing is put away in air-tight trunks or in 

^camphorwood boxes, it will mold badly. My books in the library 
get white with mold, and must be wiped off and sunned whenever 
the sun appears. I pick up my typewriter and find the ribbon all 
moldy. Your shoes will get white overnight. These three months 
fcre the hardest on our health and on all that we have. Other pests 
that we must constantly guard against in China are "silverfish," a 
small insect that eats clothing ; mosquitoes, which carry malaria, and 
because of which we always sleep under a net ; cockroaches and ants 
in the kitchen; snakes in the basement; and white ants, which eat 
the timbers in the house. White ants are like sins. They work 
away on the inside in the dark; but unless discovered and stopped, 
they will cause ruin. 

These heavy rains cause destructive floods nearly every year. I 
have seen the whole city of Waichbw under water. Our house, 
though on a small hillside, has had two feet of water in the base- 
ment. All the lawn and garden were flooded. Our church, which is 
on lower land, had ten feet of water in it. The water was up almost 

;to the roof of many houses in the city. People lived on the roofs 
for several days. Food was sold from small boats that ran up and 
down the streets. It was an amusing sight to see pigs, ducks, chick- 
ens, furniture, and children all on a roof. Many people suffered 
from the rain. If the floods cover the rice fields too long, the grain 
will rot, and then follows famine. Plague is also bad during this 
season. 

Here all must wear heavy sun helmets most of the year, to 
protect head and neck from the rays of the sun. It is very danger- 
ous not to do so, and a cork helmet is about^the\first thing the new 
missionary buys. Even though the sky be cloudy, you cannot safely 
walk out of doors without your sun hat on. 



Page 24 AT HOME WITH THE 

Cities in China are not like those in America. The larger ones 
are walled. The streets are very narrow, the widest not over twenty 
feet, and some so narrow that you could not get through if you put 
up your umbrella. They are also very crooked. It is said that they 
are purposely made crooked, so that the devil cannot find where 
the people live. Because the Chinese have no confidence in their 
neighbors and are afraid of robbers, they do not live in isolated ' 
places in the country, as we do in the United States, but they cluster 
close together in villages. Every morning, the farmer will take his 
buffalo and tools out to his little farm, where he will work for the 
day; and at even, he returns, with all his cattle, to the village. The- 
cities are very dirty. Flies are everywhere, and offensive smells^ 
greet you on every side. One of our old ministers visiting Canton 
said the odors he smelled as he went through the streets reminded 
him of what Mark Twain said of eating Limburger cheese over a 
London sewer. 

There are no roads in South China. Can you imagine a country 
with no roads? Therefore, except in Canton, there are no wagons, 
carriages, or automobiles. In some places, you do see a few bicycles. 
Everywhere are narrow paths, never over four feet wide, and oftenerl 
only two or even less. At the present time, there is much talk of; 
building roads, so that motor cars may be used for freight and pas- 
senger service. Most large cities are connected by telegraph, some; 
have electric light plants, and the very largest have telephone serv 
ice. The post-office department is efficient, and to-day China has 
many daily and weekly newspapers. 

Machinery and tools are still very crude. Lumber is all sawed 
out by hand, and the farmers are using the same kind* of plow as 
Abraham used. It is pulled by a water buffalo. We have no milk 
cows. We buy buffalo milk ; and by adding to it a little salt, we have 
learned to like it very well." Fowls, pigs, sheep, horses, and goats 
are all of very inferior grade. Many imported articles, as tinned 
milk, flour, sewing machines, oil, cloth, clocks, and soap, can be 
bought almost anywhere. In Canton and Hongkong, you may buy 
nearly anything to be had in the world. Imported products are, of 
course, much more expensive in China. Here in Waichow, sugar, 
potatoes, foreign vegetables, and many other things we use, can- 



'HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 25 

. not be bought. These we have shipped up from Canton. We have 
learned to eat many native foods, such as rice, sweet potatoes, beans, 
taro, greens, bean cake, and several kinds we have no name for in 
English. Eggs are cheap, selling for about ten cents gold a dozen. 

One of the most useful articles in China is bamboo. I do not 
believe that the Chinese could get on without it. There are several 
kinds, and it makes its full growth in one year. I have been sur- 
prised to see how many uses the Chinese have for it. I will men- 
tion a few, so you may see how valuable it is. The sprouts are 
eaten. I have eaten many of them. Split bamboo is made into 
baskets of every size and shape. The coolie's carrying pole is bam- 
boo ; so are the poles with which the boatmen push their boats. From 
it are made fences, paper, window bars, candlesticks, rope, Victrola 
needles, flour and sand sieves, clock springs, bookcases, fans, cur- 
tains, pens, brushes, scrolls, matting, money safes, carved ornaments, 
trunks, pipes, boxes, fishing rods, incense sticks, chairs, stools, and 
benches of all kinds, idols, kites, picture frames, nails, back scratch- 
es, bellows, pillows, bowls, paper cutters, brooms, chopsticks, sedan' 
chairs, clotheslines, tables, whistles, handles of all kinds, flutes, 
drums, trays, fish pens, chicken and pig crates, lanterns, bird cages, 
signboards, combs, baby cabs, arches, ladders, greenhouses, mat 
sheds, hats, toys, gloves for coarse work, dustpans, coarse clothing, 
rafts, roofs for the boats, mosquito-net frames, and many other 
things. It is a good fuel. On the lawn, the plants are trimmed into 
hedges and other pretty shapes. Mourners at funerals wear a crown 
of bamboo. It is the most useful wood in the world. 

In South China, besides bananas, oranges, pineapples, grape- 
fruit, plums, pears, peaches, guavas, loquats, and persimmons, there 
are numerous kinds of fruit not common in America, as mangoes, 
limes, litchis, corambolas, dragon eyes, yellow skins, papaws, custard 
apples, and pomegranates. In North China, they have apples, grapes, 
cherries, figs, and strawberries. We have watermelons that look 
very fine but are not sweet. There are many kinds of pumpkins and 
vegetables, a number of which do not grow in the United States. 
The longer we live in China, the better we like the native food, and 
the less we care for the imported. God has put in every country the 
-food most suitable for the people who live in that land. 



Page 26 AT HOME WITH THEl 



CHAPTER FOUR 

Home Life 

COME with me, and we will visit a Chinese home. The home in 
any land is the smallest unit in the state, and the most impor- 
tant. If the home is what it ought to be, the state will take care of 
itself. It is a sad fact that China's greatest failure is to be found 
here. Satan's fiercest attacks are directed against the home, which | 
God established away back in Eden; and in countries where God is 
not known, and where the people worship false gods, you will al- 
ways find the home life far from ideal. 

The house is not the home. The house is only the place where 
the family make the home. One little boy said he lived in a very poor 
house but had the best home in the world — his mother. China's 
greatest need is Christian mothers. But first we will look at the 
house. Except in large cities where foreign influence has been felt 
for many years, houses in China are only one-story high. Some are 
very low. They are usually built around an open court. Sometimes 
they are round and sometimes square. As a rule, they are made of 
brick ; though in some sections where brick is not \o be had, they 
are built of lime and sand and mud pounded together and plastered 
on the outside. Among the poorer classes, the vast majority of the 
houses are made of sundried mud brick. All the roofs are of clay 
tile. If China ever experienced a hailstorm, all these tile roofs 
would be ruined and would leak. 

It is almost safe to say that all houses in China have earth floors. 
A very few are made of brick or cement. In many homes, cattle, 
pigs, chickens, and ducks have a part of the house. The houses 
are almost entirely without windows, and the sleeping rooms are 
very dark and cheerless. In the door is a hole for the dog and- the 
cat to run in and out at night. In most of the houses, there is very 
little furniture. Nine tenths of them are no cleaner than our barns 
in America, and smell worse. 

The women live by themselves. In many homes, the father and 
the sons do not eat with mother and daughters. Many houses in 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 27 



China are very large, covering a great deal of ground, for all the 
relatives live together. Property is owned in common. Grand- 
father and all his sons and grandsons live together. This often 
makes a great deal of trouble, causing much quarreling and con- 
fusion. However, one thing we may say for the Chinese : they have 
great respect for their parents and for old age in general, and obey 
better than most children, even after they are grown up. The word 
of the oldest man in the house is law. This is one reason why the 
gospel does not spread rapidly in China. Unless you get the older 
people to take hold, it is difficult to get the younger ones. 

In China, a man may have as many wives as he can afford to 
buy and can support. His wife is his property, and he can do with 
her as he likes. He can beat her, sell her, or drown her, as he wishes. 
All that he fears is her relatives, and he does not fear them if his own 

clan is strong. A man may 
sell his wife for five causes : 
first, if she does not bear 
him a son ; second, if she 
does not obey; third, if she 
scolds her mother-in-law ; 
fourth, if she has a bad dis- 
ease; and fifth, for the very 
simple reason that he has 
decided she is not good- 
looking. In many a Chinese 
household, a man would be 
ashamed to be seen talking 
with his wife. A man must 
always take the side of his 
mother against his wife. 
When a family go for a 
visit to a friend, the father 
will walk on ahead a long 
way, and the family will 
follow. The other day, our 
carpenter was telling me 
about one of his workmen. 




A CHINESE COURTYARD 



Page 28 AT HOME WITH THE] 

He said he was a very good fellow, but that he had chopped his wife's 
head open with a hoe and killed her. 

Women work very hard in China. Here in Hakka land, where 
they have never followed the practice of foot-binding, the women 
do most of the work in the fields. Their life is certainly a hard 
one. A favorite greeting to a Chinese man is to ask if his wife is 
able to support the family. The husband of one of the women who 
work for us is absolutely good for nothing. She supports the three 
children. Before she came to us, she did not always have work; * 
and I have heard her say that many a time, the four of them lived 
on five cents a day. Now they have plenty. 

Both father and mother feel sad when a baby girl is born in 
China. There is one more mouth to feed ; and when she is grown [ 
up, she will marry into another family. For this very reason, there | 
are few girls' schools. It is difficult to get the girls to attend school. 
Their parents contend that it is useless for a girl to get an educa- 
tion. All the money they spend on her is wasted ; for she goes into 
another family, which reaps the benefit of their work and sacrifice. 
So a girl works hard at home, and then goes to the home of her 
mother-in-law to work even harder. As she will be the youngest 
in that family, she must therefore be servant of all. Many times, 
girls are sold when young. Sometimes they are put on the mis- 
sionary's doorstep. One morning, I found one just outside our 
front gate — dead. Often they are put down along the roadside 
where passers-by will hear their cries and take them to a charitable 
institution. 

Marriages in China are generally contracts made by the parents 
while the children are small. It is seldom that a man sees his first 
wife before the day of the wedding. For this reason, often a man 
will pick out another girl for himself, one better to his liking. But 
the second wife must be servant to number one. In China, you 
cannot buy property, get a wife, or, do anything else of consequence, 
without a go-between. If a Chinese desires you to do anything for 
him, or if he wishes something from you, he will hardly, if ever, 
come to you and talk about it, but he will send some one else to talk 
for him. Even among Christians, many of the boys do not see their 
wives until their wedding day. 






'HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 29 

Just a short time ago, I was called to marry one of our workers. 
I asked him if he had ever seen his wife-to-be ; and he replied : "No ; 
my father picked her out for me when I was a baby. But she is a 
Christian, and has attended school three years/' At the house, I 
was master of ceremonies. The guests were on hand early, and we 
ate the feast before the wedding. About four o'clock in the after- 
noon, a runner came from the young lady's home, stating that her 
chair would arrive soon. When she was in sight, a bunch of fire- 
crackers were set off. The middleman was the only one who ac- 
companied the chair. The girl had ridden about ten miles. The 
chair was let down in my presence ; but before unlocking the door, 
they shot off a few mammoth firecrackers, enough to frighten the 
poor, caged girl out of her wits. Then the middleman unlocked the 
door, and out stepped the girl to the gaze of' all. I took her into 
a little side room where a few women were assembled, and invited 
the bridegroom in to rehearse the ceremony. Imagine inviting a 
man in to see his bride for the first time ! He did not see much of 
her then; for she wore over her face a veil, which she refused to 
take off — and I did not blame her much. They did not wish to 
take hold of hands; so I told them they might do as most Chris- 
•tians do in China, put both their hands together on the Bible. As 
she would not take off her veil, he promised to "love, protect, honor, 
and cherish" a girl he had never seen. I laughingly told him after- 
wards that that was more than I would do. Some of the saddest 
experiences I have ever seen have been where a Christian girl has 
married into a heathen home and become slave to her mother-in-law. 
lit is pitiable when a Christian marries a non-Christian in America, 
but it is worse over here. 

Suppose you are invited to dinner at a Chinese home. The 
women will eat at one table, and the men at another. Every seat at 
the table has its rank. The one facing the doorway is the seat of 
honor. A long time is spent in getting seated at a Chinese feast. 
Your host will wish you to take the highest place, but you never do 
so without trying to push some one else into it. After a great deal 
of mock ceremony, you are at last seated. You will not enjoy every- 
thing the first time you eat there. You must become accustomed to 
many queer customs first. 



Page 30 AT HOME WITH THE 

You notice that there are no knives and forks. You must eat 
with two slender chopsticks, a little smaller than a pencil, and some- 
what longer. With these two held in one hand, you must pick out 
your food and push the rice into your mouth. There is no table- 
cloth on the table. It took me a long time to learn to use chopsticks, 
but I flatter myself that now I can use them like the natives. I take 
my own bowl, chopsticks, and spoon every time I go to the country ; 
for the Chinese are not very careful about washing their dishes 
after meals, and one does not like the dirty dishes used by others. 
However, this is almost a useless precaution ; for at the table, all will 
put their chopsticks into the same dish. Sometimes the host, to be 
very polite, will take the chopsticks that have been in his mouth, 
and pick out with them the choicest bits of food, to put on your bowl 
of rice. You eat it, of course, and say nothing. After dinner, they 
will all wash with the same towel, and then pass around a silver 
toothpick, which all use in turn. I never do. They all smoke the 
same pipe and drink from the same teacup. Perhaps you will not 
understand what I mean by saying that "all wash with the same 
towel." The Chinese wash by dipping a towel into a washdish and 
wiping the face and the hands with it. 

The Chinese will eat almost anything. I have seen them eat bugs, 
rats, snakes, dogs, and, in fact, about everything. They are espe- 
cially fond of pork, and eat more of it than of any other kind of 
meat. They very much like fowls too, and eat some beef, though, 
as the cow is a useful animal, she is seldom eaten until she dies. 
They are also very fond of wine, and drink it at every meal when 
they can afford it. Almost everyone smokes, men, women, and chil- 
dren. I have seen a baby stop nursing its mother and take a puff 
or two at her pipe or cigarette. It is no wonder that the Chinese 
are dwarfs. Opium is not used to the extent it was once, but it is 
still used freely. In many places, despite the efforts of a few offi- 
cials, the poppy from which opium is made is still grown. Of 
course, we teach our believers to put away all unclean foods. At 
our last general meeting in North Hakka, no flesh food of any kind 
was served. 

The laboring class in China work early and late. Labor is 
cheap. Skilled labor can be secured for twenty cents gold a day, 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 31 

unskilled for ten cents. Their work is not only cheap in price, but 
it is cheap in quality and quantity. Chinese are great imitators, and 
can make almost anything if they have a pattern to copy. 

In South China, the people are quite clean about their person. 
They bathe nearly every day, but do not get into a tub as we do. 
They take a bucket of water, sit down in a corner of the kitchen, and 
with a small towel, wash themselves all over. Even a baby is never 
put into a tub of water ; but the mother sets it on her two feet while 
she washes it in the usual manner. They always dry themselves 
with the same towel they used to wash with. 

These people have great reverence for whiskers, all elderly men 
letting them grow long when they are so fortunate as to have any to 
let grow. Many times, there are only about three on each side. 
For ages, the Chinese have shaved with such dull knives that it is a 
wonder they have any roots of their hair left. Many of our young 
missionaries let their whiskers grow the first years they are in China. 
They think this gives them prestige with the natives. When they 
get a few gray hairs, or their wives object too seriously, they cut 
them off. 

It has been truly said that China is a large graveyard. It is a 
land of graves. The hill land in some places is covered with them. 
Funerals and weddings are "red" affairs in China. When any mem- 
ber of the family dies, all the relatives meet together and have a 
feast. Many Chinese buy their coffins years before they expect to use 
them. You will see the coffin fastened up on the rafters as you 
enter the house. They are a very hard-hearted race, manifesting 
very little sympathy. I have seen them laugh at and kick a poor 
man who had just been shot for his crimes, who was still gasping 
as his lifeblood ebbed away. The weeping at funerals is mostly 
done by the hired mourners. Jesus hanging on the cross does not 
make so strong an appeal to this poor people as to some races. Yet 
in time they respond to true love. 

The largest piece of money we have in current use here is the 
twenty-cent piece. In some port cities, they have a silver dollar. 
In buying our property and building our homes, we paid for all in 
twenty-cent pieces. Our workers are all paid with them. Then 
here is a ten-cent piece, a copper, and least of all, the "cash." This 



Page 32 • AT HOME WITH THE 

is a round coin with a square hole in it, and is worth about the 
twentieth of a cent United States gold. Buying goods is one of the 
hardest things we have to do in China. A newcomer is always 
cheated until he learns the value of things. There is no fixed price 
on anything. If you wish to buy a banana, or a piece of cloth, or a 
sweet potato, you must talk price. The Chinese waste a great 
amount of time this way; but then, time is not very valuable to the 
people of the East. 

Some Americans think the Chinese are all washermen. I sup- 
pose this is because so many of them follow that trade over there. 
But it is something they have learned since they left China. In the 
interior, you never see a man washing clothes. The Chinese divide 
themselves into five classes of society. First is the scholar, because 
mind is superior to wealth ; second, the farmer, because mind cannot 
act without the body, and the body cannot exist without food ; third, 
the mechanic, because next to food, shelter is necessary ; fourth, the 
tradesman or merchant; and last of all and lowest of all, the soldier. 
He does not build up but destroys society. He is a necessary evil. 

No one likes better than the Chinese to take a chance. Gam- 
blers abound. Every now and then some well meaning governor 
will suppress gambling, but sooner or later it returns. It is a great 
curse to the nation, and has a great hold on the people. 

And China has many beggars. They are well organized, and 
respect the beggar higher up. I will close this chapter with a story 
of a beggar which has a lesson in it for us all : A snake-charming 
beggar fell asleep by the roadside and dreamed. In his dream, 
he was dissatisfied with life. He pitied his lot, and thought what a 
hard fate it was to be a snake-charming beggar. To himself he 
said, "O, to be king of the beggars !" Suddenly, in his dream, he 
seemed to be the king beggar.^ Ye he was not satisfied. He found 
he was still subject to authority, and must obey the command of the 
district magistrate. He sighed to become a magistrate, and at last 
he became one. But once magistrate, he learned that he was subject 
to the governor; so he schemed every way to be made governor. 
Then he was disappointed to find that the governor was under the 
emperor. "Just one more step," he said, "and I can rule all under 
heaven." Finally, in his long dream, he became emperor. Now he 



/ 



IAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 33 



.Jxpectedto be perfectly happy and contented. But one day, he was 
out walking, and the sun beat down upon him, and made the em- 
peror very uncomfortable. He grew angry, and wished to be the 
sun, that he might have his vengeance on everybody. After he had 
become a sun and was trying with all his power to scorch a certain 
king, a little cloud came between him and the object of his wrath 
"If I were only a cloud," he said, "then I should have my heart's 
satisfaction." But one day after being made a cloud, he tried to 
get over a great mountain, and failed. "I believe that being a 
mountain is better than being a cloud," he said. Then he turned 
into a mountain. One day he felt something cold and creepy crawl- 
ing up his back. It was a great snake, and it gave him an awful 
fright. Right away he wished to become a snake. But after he had 
become a snake, an old beggar came along and charmed him and 
put him in his sack. "After all, to be a snake-charming beggar is 
:he finest position in all the world," he said. Just then he awoke 
Ubt us learn the lesson : Be where God wants you, and then be satis- 
■*d with the work He gives you to do. 




ONE OF CHINA'S NARROW STREETS 



Page 34 AT HOME WITH TH. 



CHAPTER FIVE 



China's Language 



, 



THE missionary is of little use in China, until he learns the lan- 
guage. You would not expect a man to do successful work in 
America for English-speaking people unless he knew the English 
language. If his English were poor, he would have difficulty to 
hold an audience. This is even truer in China. The Chinese are 
not anxious to hear the gospel. They are prejudiced against it, 
and are satisfied with their own religion. While our message has 
a power in it that no heathen religion has, yet how long do you 
think it would take a Chinese, if he spoke only broken English, to 
convert an American to Taoism? He probably could not do it if he 
spoke perfect English, for we are satisfied with our religion and look 
down upon his. But we are no more satisfied with the religion of 
Jesus than he is with the teachings of Confucius. How necessary 
it is, then, that we be able to give our message in plain Chinese ! 

There is another reason why the missionary should master the 
Chinese language. Remember, these people belong to the yellow 
race. Their ways of thinking and acting are quite different from the 
ways of the white race. Until you can talk to them heart to heart in 
their own language, you can never hope to understand their charac- 
ter, — the way to appeal to their minds, — and therefore you will 
never be able to labor successfully for them. All of us missionaries 
have translated sermons given by able men, which have meant 
little or nothing to the Chinese audience. I well remember one good 
brother who was visiting us from the United States, who spoke on 
"Vocation Versus Avocation" to our Hakka church. I was trans- 
lator ; and all the time, I felt so sorry for the Chinese, I could hardly 
be composed. Another old missionary smiled knowingly when I 
mentioned the subject to him. 

There is still another reason why you should get the language 
as soon as possible after arriving in the field. When you begin to 
mingle with the people, your ear will detect the strange tones of the 
language; and if you put forth earnest effort then, you will perceive 



1AKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 35 



at difference between the sounds. But should you listen to these 
trange sounds a year or more, without special effort to distinguish 
etween them, you would find that they fall on your ear as a confused 
/hole, and you would hardly be able to differentiate between them. 
For the Chinese language is one having many tones, or inflec- 
10ns. The same word said in a different tone means altogether a 
ifferent thing. This is what gives Chinese such a singsong sound. 




U 




Mouth 




f 



H*»d 




Bird 



o 



Bfl 



&ui 



* 



Son. 



■!> 



\\oon. 



K 



Tit 



Po| 



SOME CHINESE CHARACTERS 
The ancient hieroglyphics from which the characters are derived, are also shown. 

or example, take the word mun. If said in a low tone, it means 
loor." If said in a higher tone, it means "mosquito/' If said with 
slight rising inflection, it means "to ask." 

We all make many ridiculous mistakes when beginning to speak 
aje language. We perhaps forget the tone, and thus say something 
e did not wish to say. One of our teachers told her Bible class that 
ae gates of the New Jerusalem were made of pork. "Pork" and 
pearl" are the same word in Hakka — chu — only said in a different 
>ne. Many times, I have called for soup at a Chinese inn, when 
wanted sugar. Even after we can speak the language quite well, 
le make some serious blunders. 



Page 36 AT HOME WITH THE 

In Chinese, there are in many instances several names for the 
same thing. In English, rice is rice, whether it is on the table or 
growing in the field; but not so in China. The little tender plants 
are called miau; when it is ready to harvest, it is called vo; before 
it is hulled, it is called kwuk; after it is hulled, it is called mi; and 
when it is cooked, it is fan. 

In studying Chinese, you must have a Chinese teacher. You will 
have a dictionary, your Bible, and possibly a few other books as 
helps. But to be able to speak Chinese, you must seek constantly to 
use what you know. I made long trips into the country, where I 
could not use a word of English, and where I was forced to speak 
with the natives. Doing thus will help you to learn quickly to speak 
Chinese. I never shall forget the first time I tried to speak in public 
in Chinese. I do not think that those who heard me will ever forget 
it either. It was the hardest hour's work I ever did. 

Not all of China has the same language. There are many dia- 
lects, each quite different from all the others. However, there is 
one written language read and understood by all Chinese scholars. 
This is a great blessing, as our books and papers, filled with gospel 
truth, can be read everywhere. In South China, there are six dia- 
lects, — Cantonese, Hakka, Swatowese, Amoyese, Mandarin, and 
Fuchow. We now have a well established work in all these lan- 
guages, and we have some missionaries who can speak several 
dialects. 

In past years, the chief study in all Chinese schools was the 
characters of the language. A man was educated if he knew the 
characters well. They do not have words in Chinese, but characters j 
Everything has its own character; so, to be able to read the Bible in] 
Chinese, you must recognize several thousand characters. It is much 
easier to read them than to write them. Now the schools teach thel 
same branches as do our American schools, still their language studyi 
is all-important. 

You would enjoy a visit to one of our schools. In Waichov$ 
city, we have just finished a fine girls' school building. This year,, 
about sixty girls have attended. Throughout the Hakka field, w$| 
have several other schools, with over four hundred boys and girl J 
in attendance. The students in all the primary schools study aloud. « 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 37 



They think they cannot hear (understand) what they are reading 
unless they read it aloud to themselves. We could not stand so much 
noise, but the Chinese teachers do not seem to mind it. They say 
they can better tell whether all are studying, if they study aloud. 
Some of these boys and girls are very bright. In Canton, there are 
several girls who can repeat the entire New Testament from mem- 
ory. The pupils come to school very early in the morning, and go 
home at ten o'clock for breakfast. In this part of China, the people 
eat only two meals a day. 

When you come to China, you will change your name for one in 
Chinese. Commonly we choose characters whose sounds are similar 
to the sound of our English name. For example, my English — or 
rather German — name, Nagel, is put into three Chinese charac- 
ters, — Na Ki Li. 

Not until recently have we had the whole Bible in Hakka. For 
many years, we had only the New Testament. The Bible societies 
have certainly done a great work for God in translating and pub- 
lishing the Scriptures in the various languages of earth. I am going 
to tell you the story of the man who translated the Bible for the 
American Bible Society into the written language of China. I heard 
Dr. Hykes, who is in charge of this society for Asia, give this in- 
:eresting account one day while in Shanghai. 

Mr. Schereschewsky had preeminent qualifications as a Bible 
Translator; for he was a Polish Jew, and Hebrew was his native 
congue. He knew several other languages. When a young man, 
le sailed from London to labor as a missionary in China, under the 
London Missionary Society. He was six months making the voy- 
age. While on shipboard, he employed a Chinese teacher, and made 
remarkable progress in the language. When he arrived in Shanghai, 
rie not only could speak quite fluently, but could even write essays 
k classical Chinese. 

After several years of faithful service, he was made a bishop, 
fid was located in Central China, at Wuchang. One day, he suf- 
fered a severe sunstroke, which resulted in paralysis of his limbs 
bid partly of his tongue. Ever afterwards he stammered badly. 
The doctors thought he might possibly live to reach Shanghai, so he 
A^as carried on board a river steamer bound for that port. On the 



Page 38 AT HOME WITH THl 



way down river, he became so ill that one of the ministers with hin 
began to read the prayers for the dead which are read in thei 
church. But the good bishop said that he did not intend to die. An< 
he did not die. He recovered his health, but could not use his arm 
or legs, and it was very difficult for him to talk. 

The Mission Board under which he was working, thinking hi 
days of usefulness were ended, sent him home. But one day it 
America, he hunted up the office of the American Bible Society, anc 
asked them to send him out to China as a translator. They coul 
hardly understand him when he spoke, he stammered so. Out o 
respect for his past service as a missionary, they let him down a 
easily as possible ; but they refused to hire him as a translator. 

Most men would have become discouraged; but not he. Hi 
faith led him to ask and expect large things. He went to Jay Goul 
and other rich men in America, and asked them for money wit 
which to translate the Bible into Wen-li, the classical language o 
China. They listened to his story, believed what he said, and gavi 
him the money he needed. 

He could use only two fingers of his right hand ; but with these 
two fingers, he wrote the entire Bible out in Romanized Chinese 
That is, he used our English letters instead of the Chinese characters. 
This manuscript is called the "two-finger" Bible. This took him a 
long time ; and when he had it completed, he returned with it to 
China. Here he found an educated Chinese Bible woman who helped 
him write it all over in the classical language of China. It took them; 
eight years, working eight hours every day, to finish this task. 

After this work was well done, he greatly desired to go over it 
all once more and make it a reference Bible. One day, he said t<| 
Dr, Hykes, "How long do you think I will live?" The doctor re^ 
plied, "Oh, perhaps ten years, certainly for five." "All right," the] 
bishop said; "I will try to finish in five years." He did so, to a 
month. Then he was suddenly taken ill. He had been sick but J 
short time when he said to his Japanese servant, "Put me in my olq 
work chair, where I have sat so many years." This was done ; and 
not long afterwards, with his labor of love and the tools for his worl^ 
all about him — he died. His translation is conceded to be thJ 
best we have in the Chinese language. Such men are truly heroesi 



IKK AS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 39 



CHAPTER SIX 
The Religions of China 

HERE are three forms of religion recognized in China. They 
_ are Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The first two origi- 
ted in China, while the last came in from India. There are also 
dany Mohammedans and a few thousand Christians here. Heathen- 
ism in China is really a mixture of the three recognized systems. 
I might tell you a great deal about each of these. But I fear it 
would not be very interesting to young minds ; so instead, I will re- 
late experiences that I have had, and tell you things you could see 
my day in this dark, heathen land. 

Right next door to our city chapel in Waichow is an idol maker's 
shop. China has many kinds of false gods. There are the god of the 
dtchen, the god of rain, the god of the field, the war god, and the 
goddess of mercy, with hundreds of others. The people worship 
:he spirits that they think live in trees. As in Bible times, there 
ire idol shrines under every green tree. Upon these shrines, incense 
:s daily burned; and often paper lanterns are hung up at night to 
jive light to the spirits. 

The Chinese believe that a man has three souls. When a man 
lies, they think one soul goes to Hades, one stays in the tomb, and 
:he other lives in the ancestral tablet. Every clan has a hall where 
iiese ancestral tablets are kept. The names of the ancestors are 
fritten on them, and incense is burned before them continually. The 
)eople believe that these spirits of their ancestors have power to bless 
ir curse them, as they will. For this reason, food is offered to the 
lead. Of course, it is afterwards eaten by the people themselves; 
>ut they say that all the good taste has been taken out. Paper money 
s also burned in great abundance, so that the dead may have plenty 
o spend in the spirit world. Every year, they worship at the graves, 
md shoot off many firecrackers to frighten away bad spirits. 

I have seen as many as five hundred gods in one temple. Most 
)f them are great clay images gilded over. Some are made of wood, 
)thers of stone, and a few are only paper. Worshiping these idols 






Page 40 AT HOME WITH TH& 

is only a gamble. Answers to all prayers are already written out 
and pasted on the wall of the temple. There is a little bamboo case 
containing many sticks with numbers painted on them. When some 
poor woman wishes to pray to the idol, she kneels before it, says her 
prayer, then shakes the case of sticks and draws out one at random 
She next goes and finds the corresponding number on the wall and 
reads her answer. We think such an action very foolish; but these 
people who have been taught this way from childhood are very 
sincere. 

During the revolution ten years ago, the heads of many of these 
idols were chopped off by soldiers in the army. Many of this class 
professing to have no more confidence in idols, have become infidels 
But the people patched up the broken heads, or made new ones, and 
the worship of the idols continues as of old. 

On my last itinerating trip, I found, away up on a high moun- 
tain road, under a beautiful pine tree, a little idol shrine. It so 
spoiled for me the beautiful scenery, that I could not resist the temp- 
tation to toss it over the steep hillside. Faster and faster it rollec 
down the mountain side, and dashed into a thousand pieces at th 
bottom. I hope some one will learn from it, that such gods are un- 
able to protect themselves, much less people. Some of the idol 
have the dust and dirt of many decades upon them, and are so cov- 
ered with cobwebs that they can hardly be seen. 

The Chinese believe in many evil spirits. There is a water devil 
which is supposed to drown boys and girls; a revengeful devil; anc 
many others. The other day, I saw a new stone slab by the river 
bank. I inquired its meaning, and was told that a few days previous 
a small boy had been drowned there, and this stone had been erectec 
to warn others of the bad spirit that lived in this neighborhood. Only 
last week, a woman came very early one morning to the little hil 
back of our house, to cut grass for fuel. Suddenly she stopped wort 
and ran back to her home in the city. She told one of her relatives 
a woman who works for us, that a devil threw two stones at her while 
she was cutting grass, and she was afraid to stay longer in such a 
place. 

When I must travel on the river and wish to engage a boat, I 
first ask the crew if they are afraid of water devils. If they are, I 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 41 

must be very cautious while using their boat. They will not permit 
me to put my feet over into the river to cool them, or wash my hands 
in the river. Once I was unable to find a single boat whose crew 
were not afraid, so I was obliged to hire one with a crew who were 
afraid. But I think I afterwards forever cured them of this fool- 
ishness. I watched my chance, and while they were all in the front 
of the boat eating rice, I quickly took off my clothes and dived head- 
first into the river. They were only aware of what I had done, when 
they heard the splash. And they supposed I was gone for good. 
Some water devil had me for certain ! I purposely remained under 
the water as long as I could, slowly drifting downstream with the 
current. Then I arose to the surface, reached for my boat, and 
climbed aboard and dressed. All the while, they never spoke a 
word. I never before saw such frightened Chinese. I am sure 
they felt ever after that I, at least, was in no danger from water 
devils. 

At one time, robbers were operating so near our home, I deemed 
it w T ise to engage a man to watch on our veranda at night. In order 
ithat I might know he was awake, I had him follow the usual Chi- 
nese custom of beating a drum every fifteen minutes. Although I 
paid him a good wage for his work, he came to me after watching 
a night or two, and said: "Mr. Nagel, I cannot beat the drum any 
more. I would be afraid to do so. Last night, I heard three devils 
crying behind your house/' I told him his devils were only the 
wind in the bamboo ; but he thought otherwise, and would not return. 

Many temples are built on the tops of high mountains. Others 
are built on high rocks along the river. A good heathen boatman 
blows his whistle, out of respect to the temple, whenever his boat 
passes. The tourists are always interested in visiting the many tall 
pagodas. Some of these pagodas are nine or more stories high. 
They are relics of Buddhism when that religion was more prosperous 
in China. On a recent tour, I visited a temple in a large cave. We 
had to have torches to see our way. I must say it was a nice, cool 
place, and the spring water was most refreshing -after a walk in the 
hot sun. I did not need to boil it before drinking it, as we do nearly 
all the water we use. 





















. 


Page 42 












AZ HOME 


WITH 


THE\ 


When 


we 


bought 


our 


property 


at 


Waichow, 


there 


was a 


large 



god tree on it. At its base was a small idol with an incense urn. 
After we had built a fence, we supposed the people would remain 
away. But they continued to come to this tree to worship; so atj 
last, while we disliked very much to sacrifice the fine shade tree, we 
saw we must do so to keep the people out. Not that we objected to 
the people's coming into our compound, but we did not wish them 
to come on our land to worship their false gods. Brother Anderso 
cut down the tree. No Chinese would dare do it. We made a littl 
house for the idol and put him alongside a small temple not a grea' 
distance away. The people expected that some terrible disaste: 
would come to the "foreign devils" for cutting down the tree. Whe 
they saw that nothing unusual happened, they said that that kind o 
god could not live in a house. But as far as we could see, he gotjj 
on just as well in his little house as he did under the tree. 

Then we wished to get the stump of the tree out. That would be 
a long, hard job ; and as we did not have time or ambition for it, we 
engaged several Chinese from a distance to come and do it. We I 
offered them a good wage as an inducement; but so soon as they 
heard that the stump was that of a god tree, they quit work, and no 
sum of money could get them to continue. Several attempts turned 
out the same way, and to-day the stump is still there. 

On the fifth day of the Chinese fifth moon is the dragon boat 
festival. Years ago there lived in China a very good man. But h 
was wise beyond his time; and one day, he offended the emperor 
His majesty sent the good man a yellow string, which meant that he, 
had permission to take his own life. He threw himself into the 
river and drowned. Years afterwards the Chinese people began to 
appreciate his wisdom, and wished to do him honor. Now at this 
time each year, they run up and down every river in China, in long, 
narrow boats, looking for his body. The bow of each of these boats 
is built to represent a great dragon ; and the boatmen, sometimes as 
many as fifty, make their paddles all go to time, as one beats a big 
drum. From the shore, it appears like an immense dragon. 

The Chinese have great respect for the dragon. I do not mean 
the boat dragon, but one which they think lives in the earth. When- 
ever there is an earthquake, they say it is caused by the dragon's 



1 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 43 



turning over. An eclipse is caused by the dragon's attempting to 
swallow the moon. This dragon is supposed to be able to prosper 
or plague the people. This is one reason why China has. so few 
mines and railroads. Such things would disturb the dragon and the 
spirits of their ancestors. 

It takes years for these heathen superstitions to get- out of the 
heart of a Chinese, even after he has become a Christian. I remem- 
ber traveling one day with one of our oldest native preachers, a 




A DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL SCENE 

Brother Wang. His father had been a Christian preacher before 
him, and one would naturally think that all such nonsense as I have 
related would be out of his life. We had been traveling upriver 
for several days, and expected to reach before Sabbath a city where 
we have a chapel. But we were delayed by contrary winds and 
could not use the sails ; so we saw that we would not reach our 
destination before late Friday evening. Then we prepared for the 



Page 44 AT HOME WITH THE 

Sabbath on the boat. I washed, shaved, and put on some clean 
clothes. Then I seated myself on my canvas cot and began to read 
a book. Brother Wang came along and asked if he might borrow 
my razor to shave with. Much as I disliked to do so, I let him have 
it ; but I warned him to be careful, as it was very sharp, not like the 
old hoes he was accustomed to using. He scoffed at my warning — 
said he was older than I and had shaved longer than I had. I 
thought no more about the matter, but kept on reading, and he went 
back to the rear of the boat to shave. Suddenly I heard back there 
the most frightful yell I think I ever heard. Brother Wang came 
running through the boat with his throat cut from bone to bone, 
and the blood was flowing freely. One would think that in such a 
plight, he would have come to me for aid ; but instead, he was look- 
ing for the captain of the boat. When he had found him, he shouted 
two or three times very excitedly : "Why do you keep devils on this 
boat? See what a devil has done. He made me cut my throat." In 
spite of the fact that it was so serious a matter to him, — for he ex- 
pected to die, — I could not refrain from laughing. I told him that 
his devils were nothing more than the motion of the boat and a sharp 
razor. Wetting a towel in the river and bathing the wound freely, I 
soon had the bleeding stopped; but weeks after, I heard him telling 
others how a devil made him cut his throat. 

The first and the fifteenth of every moon are sacred days with the 
Chinese. On these days, they waste a deal of money on firecrackers. 
On the river boats, before any expected danger, as traveling over 
rapids, the crew will stop and burn incense to the spirits. Sometimes 
I think they are more faithful to their false gods than we are to the 
true God. They -worship them from a motive of fear, not from 
love. I have seen a long procession of men carrying idols suspended 
from hooks thrust into the flesh of their forearms. Some of these 
idols were so heavy that along beside the men who carried them 
walked other men to support their arms. These poor devotees of 
paganism would walk thus until exhausted. 

Is it not sad to think of human beings, once made in the image 
of God, now under such heathen darkness ? The very fact that God 
has given us great light makes us responsible to do all we can to 
teach them the better way. 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 45 



CHAPTER SEVEN 
Government 

THE Chinese think a great deal of America. When you tell one 
that you are an American, he is likely to hold up his thumb, which 
means number one. They are trying to imitate our form of govern- 
ment, and they call themselves a republic. But in fact, they are not 
a republic. In the United States, all citizens over twenty-one years 
of age have a right to vote and have a voice in the government; but 
in China,, the power still lies in the hands of a few men. In past 
years, only well educated men could become magistrates. They 
were always chosen from* the scholar class. Now any one who has 
money enough can purchase a position. The men who rule are the 
men who have the largest number of soldiers. China is governed 
by guns and money — if it can be said to be governed at all. I be- 
lieve that in some places, they are making a little advancement, or 
would if other provinces would only stop fighting them and let them 
work out their ideals. At this writing, there are several provinces 
fighting each other ; and China has two presidents, one in Peking and 
one in Canton. One of her greatest needs is a strong central gov- 
ernment. 

The ambition of every Chinese boy is, to be either a rich man or 
a magistrate. Selfishness reigns in the heart of the Chinese as it 
does in the heart of other peoples. As only a few can secure official 
position, almost any means is used to get it. Consequently there are 
very few officials in China who love their country or their own 
people. The Chinese themselves say that their officials look after 
nothing but their own pocketbooks. Soldiers will fight for the man 
who will pay them best. If a criminal has money, he does not fear 
the judge, for he knows he can purchase his freedom. Justice is 
hard to obtain in China. The poor people are to be pitied ; for they 
are robbed by bandits, soldiers, and magistrates. When the soldiers 
are gone, the people are oppressed by the bandits. When the sol- 
diers come back, they oppress the people for not helping them catch 
the bandits. In nearly all lawsuits, the party wins who can pay the 
judge the most money. 



Page 46 



AT HOME WITH THE 



When a man obtains an official position in China, he labors to 
get rich as quickly as possible, for he knows that some stronger 
official may take his position away from him. I have had many ac- 
quaintances among the official class of China, and I know that the 
government is very corrupt. Like most of the rest of the world, 
this country becomes a sign of the times in which we live. The 
rule is, for the whole nation to be in a very unsettled condition. 
People do not trust their magistrates, so they often try to settle their 




PART OF AN IDOL PROCESSION 



differences between themselves. I have seen two clans fighting. I 
have seen two villages at war. I have seen two districts fight for 
months. The provinces fight among themselves continually. 

While we were home on furlough five years ago, the Chiuchow 
magistrate led his soldiers several hundred miles over mountains and 
rivers to fight the Waichow magistrate. There were some thirty 
thousand of them, and they surrounded the city for nearly six 
weeks, but finally retreated without taking it. When we returned 
to our home, we found hundreds of bullet holes in the walls, and 
two big holes where cannon balls had gone through the roof. Walk- 
ing in the country, I have come to a sign warning travelers to tak 
another road, as the two villages above were fighting. China ha; 
great fear and respect for other strong governments, and only thi 



\HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 47 

and the grace of God make it possible to work here with any degree 
of safety at all. The section where we live is one of the worst in 
all China. 

It takes firm nerves and a trust in God to live in a city like Wai- 
chow. We have become more or less accustomed to conditions, and 
perhaps we have increased in faith, so that we do not fear any more. 
We can sleep now when all around us villages are being robbed. 
The noise of the yelling and the shooting used to keep us awake with 
dread all night. It took years to become hardened to it. When I first 
came to China, I was robbed and shot at a few times ; and it made me 
so nervous that for months afterwards, I would shake like a leaf in 
the wind whenever I heard the report of a gun. I thank God that He 
has taken away all this fear. But in places like this, one must truly 
trust in God. 

Different bands of soldiers have fought for Waichow city four 
times since we have been living here. Once it was at the time of our 
workers' meeting. I had sent out the announcements, and ordered 
all the preachers and teachers to meet here for a six-week institute. 
Then I heard of another official who with his army was moving up 
the river to attack the city and drive out the present magistrate. 
We feared that all the boats would stop running, and wondered if 
it was safe to have all the workers come in for the meeting. But 
the notice had been sent, so we sought the Lord to open the way. 
Missionaries from another city, of another church, walked ten miles 
to tell us of our danger, thinking that perhaps we had not heard, and 
advising us to leave. But we decided to remain and ask God to 
stop the fighting. One day, when the advancing army was but a few 
miles below the city, I went to the magistrate's yamen to counsel 
over the situation with him; and I was informed that the invaders 
could never take the city, and that if there was any fighting, it 
would be on the side of the city opposite to us. A friend in the 
lyamen who had at one time been a canvasser for us said that if con- 
ditions became very bad, he would warn us so that we might leave. 

I had hardly crossed the bridge on my way home when I heard 
Sshooting in the yamen. In a short time, the magistrate, dressed in 
women's clothes, with a few trusty men, was fleeing over the city 
wall, making his escape up the river as fast as he could go. It seems 



Page 48 AT HOME WITH THE) 

that that morning, he had sent one of his commanders with a few 
hundred soldiers to treat with the invading official. This official 
bought the commander over to his side, and then told him to return 
to the city under his old flag, as though he were still loyal to the 
magistrate in the city, and when inside, to open fire on the yamen, 
and open the gates for the invaders to come in. This he did. There 
were only a few men killed, and it was all over within a few hours. 
Thus God heard and answered our prayers, and our meeting was 
a success. The time before when Waichow was attacked, there was, 
fighting for six weeks. 

Whenever the crops are a failure, then many of the farmers join 
the robber bands and become "bad men." They are continually . 
robbing boats that run up and down the rivers, but they are much , 
worse whenever the soldiers leave the market places to go and fight | 
elsewhere. These robbers work in bands of from ten to two or three 9 
hundred in a band. Just at this writing, the country is exceptionally 
quiet, as many of the robber chiefs have accepted positions in the 
new Kwangtung army and have gone to fight Kwangsi. Last year, 
while these two provinces were fighting, three of our chapels and 
schools were plundered, and several of our brethren were killed. 
These robber bands will levy a heavy tax on a village. If the tax 
is promptly paid, the villagers have nothing to. fear; but if it is so 
heavy that the poor people are unable to raise it, or if for any other 
reason it is not paid, the robbers will attack them, and if successful, 
will drive off all their cattle, and hold their children for ransom. 

These robbers are very daring, and will come down right under 
the city wall and rob villages. During some seasons of the year, 
you can hear, on almost any moonlight night, the screams of the poor 
people who are being plundered. Before the soldiers can get the city 
gate open and reach the place, the robbers are gone. Villages all 
around us have been robbed. Although we are outside the city, we 
have never been molested by armed robbers. For this we are in- 
deed thankful to God. Sneak thieves have bothered us somewhat, 
stealing clothing, chickens, clocks, and such articles. One night, we 
heard the dogs barking, and upon searching, found a thief hidden 
under the church building. We caught him, and kept him all night 
on our veranda. With my rifle by my side, I sat up and watched part 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 49 



of the night; then my brother, who was visiting me, also my brother- 
in-law, took turns. In the morning, on inquiry, we learned that he 
was a very noted thief. The reason we watched was because we 
feared he might have been hidden inside the compound to open the 
gates for others. Had we turned him over to the police, he would 
have been shot ; and as he begged for another chance, and seemed 
sincere, we gave him a kind talking to and let him go. He seemed 
grateful, and I hope he reformed. 

One of the worst things these robbers do is to kidnap little boys 
and hold them for ransom. This is done continually, yet the govern- 
ment seldom interferes. One of the saddest things about these cases 
is that the robbers are always brought in by some one who is ac- 
quainted with the family. If a man has a grudge against another, 
he will sometimes take this way to get even. 

Girls are not often taken, for they are not worth much money in 
China. Last year, the son of one of our nearest neighbors was 
stolen. The father has received many letters from the robbers, 
stating how much they want for ransom ; but as he is poor, and not 
able to raise so much money, he cannot redeem the boy, and has not 




A CITY GATE 



Page 50 . AT HOME WITH THE 

seen him for many months. This family have not a very good name 
among their neighbors, or others would help them with money. 

One night, we were awakened by hard crying just over the fence. 
We arose to inquire what was the matter, and learned that a poor 
widowed woman there had just been visited by three robbers, who 
had stolen her sixteen-year-old son. While the poor old woman 
was not a Christian, I felt very sorry for her ; and at morning wor- 
ship, I prayed for her and the boy. After worship, I went to the 
city, and returned about ten o'clock. Almost the first person I met 
after entering our gate was this woman. She was smiling, and hur- 
ried to tell me that her boy was safe at home. I went to visit him, 
and he told me his experience. 

He said the robbers took him up the river about four miles, 
where they met another band, and all stopped in an old temple, and 
had a feast of chickens which they had stolen. They did not blind- 
fold him, as is customary ; so, as it was a bright moonlight night, he 
could see the river and knew about where he was. After eating, the 
robbers went on to a village several miles farther; and there, in an 
old, deserted house, they fastened a chain around his neck, and 
chained him to a rafter overhead. They also tied his hands together, 
and then instructed an old man to watch him while they went to get 
some much-needed sleep. The old man was deaf; and supposing 
the boy was quite safe for the night, he went up into a loft and 
also took a nap. The boy finally worked his hands loose; then he 
gave the chain a quick jerk, and the lock at the other end flew open. 
Waiting a moment to see if anyone was disturbed, he picked up the 
heavy chain — for he could not get it off his neck — opened the 
door, leaped over a low wall, and ran for home as fast as his legs 
could go. I always felt that God had a hand in the boy's escape. 

Again and again my heart has overflowed with gratitude to God 
as I have seen how He has answered our prayers. He has been so 
good to us in this heathen land ! Many times He has given us evi- 
dence, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it was His hand that was 
guiding us. We see the outworking of His mighty power con- 
tinually. 

I must tell you a story about one of our ofher missionaries in 
South China. I will not tell you his name, as he and I are very 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 51 

good friends, and he might not thank me if I told you his name. I 
was coming up the East River one day with some German mission- 
aries, when a band of river pirates opened fire on us. There were 
about a hundred of them, and they were concealed behind the bank 
of the river. The first volley, they hit one of the German mission- 
aries ; and the bullets flew thick all around me. We could not escape, 
so we pulled over to the bank and let them have all we had. They 
boarded the boat, and treated me very roughly — held a gun in my 
face for over an hour. Sometimes they would pull down the ham- 
mer. All I could do was to pray, and I feared that my days were 
numbered. They took all I had, even to my hat, shoes, and coat. All 
they left me was my Bible. 

When I told my fellow missionaries what had occurred, one 
brother rather scoffed at the idea of my being robbed. He was big 
and strong, and talked very brave. He said that if he had been 
there, he would have grabbed a bamboo pole or anything he could 
get hold of, and "cleaned them all out." I said nothing, but thought 
to myself, "Your day will come sometime." He had never yet met 
robbers. His wife was teaching in Canton ; and that very year, while 
he was there with her, they were sleeping up over Bethel School, 
when one night a lone robber got into their room. These fellows 
blacken their faces, grease their bodies, and put a long knife in their 
teeth. 

The missionary's wife awoke, and was too frightened to speak 
as she saw the man moving around the room. They were sleeping 
under a mosquito net, and could see him much plainer than he could 
see them. With her elbow, she tried for fully two minutes to waken 
her husband. She thought he was never so hard to wake up before. 
The fact was that he was awake all the time, and had seen the thief, 
but was so thoroughly scared that he would not move. At last, when 
he saw the robber pick up two or three more pair of shoes, he sat up 
11 bed and yelled, instead of jumping up and catching him. The 
thief quietly went off with all he had. The wife told, in the morn- 
iig, what a brave man my friend was. Since then, he has not talked 
jo much about catching robbers. 

We do not fear here at Waichow, for several reasons. First, 
ye have a loving heavenly Father who cares for His children. Sec- 



Page 52 AT HOME WITH THE\ 

ond, we have no enemies that we know of. Third, it would be diffi- 
cult for the robbers to pawn or sell anything they might take from 
us, as it would be known to be foreign goods. Fourth, all who know 
us know that we never keep large sums of money in the house. 
Fifth, these robbers know also that when they take a foreigner's 
goods, other countries are involved, and the local magistrates then 
put forth diligent efforts to catch them. Sixth, they know that I 
can shoot very well with my rifle. They do not know that I would 
rather lose all I have than shoot one of them ; but the very fact that 
I keep a gun in the house has a wholesome effect upon them. 

One time during a bad flood, when water was all around us, a 
number of robbers came in a boat and anchored right between our 
gate and the city wall. I noticed them several times during the day, 
but did not feel sure that they were robbers ; though as I saw them 
eating freely of chicken and other food that ordinary people do not 
eat all the time, I grew a bit suspicious. Late in the afternoon, I 
went to the bank to get some money to pay our workers ; and upon 
my return home, one of our workmen said to me, "Do you know 
that those fellows are robbers?" I said I feared they were. He 
said that he was certain of it, as all the fisher boats had pulled away 
from them. It was late, or I would have returned to the city and 
informed the police. However, I determined to let the robbers know 
I was aware of their purpose, so went up on my top veranda anc 
gave them ten shots with my repeating rifle as fast as I could pull 
the trigger. I did not shoot directly at the boat, but shot a circle 
right around it. They took the hint and moved away, hiding behind 
some bamboo a little way up from us. That night about nine o'clock, 
they tried to rob some people who live on a raft in the river opposite 
our house. When the shooting began, several of their balls hit 
close to our house. Mrs. Nagel hurried the children to a safe place, 
so they would not be hit if any bullets came through the window. 
In the morning, we were happy to learn that the people on the raft 
were also prepared for them and fought them off, so that they did 
not get anything, but left empty-handed. 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 53 



CHAPTER EIGHT 

Traveling in China 

A MISSIONARY cannot spend all his time at home, unless his 
work be teaching school, or some other line which confines him 
to one place. Ministers and mission directors should spend the 
greater part of their time out in the field, building up the churches, 
ind entering new territory to sow the seed for a harvest of souls. 
Every year, I travel several thousand miles ; so you will not be sur- 
Drised if I make one chapter of this booklet tell of happenings on 
:he road. 

At least once each year, I endeavor to take Mrs. Nagel and the 
:hildren with me. We are gone about two months among the 
churches. They do not go for a pleasure trip, for there is no pleasure 
n it, save the greatest pleasure of all, — winning men and women to 
"hrist. I thank God He gave me a companion who is not only a 
nissionary's wife, but also a missionary wife. There is a great 
lifference between being simply the wife of a missionary and being 
. missionary one's self. When she goes along, I can stay longer in 
he field, for I have better food. She also does a good work for the 
vomen ; and in China, men cannot work for women. When I travel 
Hone, I usually eat with our native workers at the chapels ; but a few 
veeks of their food is all I can stand. Sometimes I take along a few 
|>otatoes and some toasted bread to help out. Their food is good, 
hut not always cooked as we are accustomed to having it cooked. 
I have already told you of Chinese table manners and the bathroom 
omforts, so will confine myself this time to modes of travel and 
/hat it is like to itinerate in this country. 

We try to build up our stations not too far apart, so that we can 
:o from one to another in a day. When we can do this, we do not 
1 eed to stop in strange places or in Chinese inns. The Hakka field 
\\ so organized that I can spend almost every night in one of our own 
|hapels, the stations being from ten to forty miles apart, as a rule. 
l)f course, when we spy out new territory, which we try to do every 
ear, we must get on without the conveniences we find in our own 



, 

Page 54 AT HOME WITH THE 

chapels, and put up with what we can find along the way. Our 
mission chapels are only Chinese shops repaired and made clean for 
meetinghouses, but they are much to be preferred to a strange place. 

This spring, I made a journey of over a thousand miles, and was 
gone from home more than eight weeks. I visited much new coun- 
try, and traveled many roads over which an American had never 
before traveled. Four things connected with this trip will be of 
interest to you all. First, I opened up work in three new districts, 
leaving a native preacher to instruct the people. What gives our 
hearts the most courage, and causes us to feel the most thankful, is 
to see the message going on and on. We who live out here in these 
dark corners wish above everything else to see the work finished 
Second, while off Swatow harbor, I saw a large steamship wrecked 
There were two wrecks near together ; and in one, over a thousanc 
people were drowned. The captain lost control of his ship in, the 
strong ocean currents and went on the rocks. I thought to myself, 
How often we lose control of ourselves, perhaps our appetites, pas- 
sions, or tongues, in the conflicting currents of life, and what wrecks 
follow ! 

Then I remember with much pleasure the welcome given me by 
the people in one of the new districts I visited. No foreign pastor ; 
had ever visited them before, and they made great preparation to 
welcome me. For miles around the city, they posted up notices that 
I would arrive on a certain day. When their watchman saw me 
coming, they came out in chairs to welcome me, and for a mile out- 
side the city gate, shot off firecrackers. They made me a great feast, 
where at thirty-five tables, nearly three hundred took part. I was 
pleased to see no unclean food, and no wine or tobacco. They had 
prepared all vegetarian food for me, having heard that I did not 
choose to make a graveyard of my stomach. I remained with them 
five days, and was glad to find such a good opening to preach the 
blessed gospel ; and I believe a good work will be built up there. 

The fourth incident, I do not remember with so great pleasure, 
though I shall not forget it quickly. One day, because of bad 
roads caused by heavy rains, Iwas unable to reach a city where 
we have a chapel, so was compelled to stay overnight at a country 
market place. As I was a stranger, my chair coolies took me to a 



_j 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 55 

native inn. They said it was the best one in the village. I found 
the guest room too small for me to put up my canvas cot in, so I 
tried to sleep on a Chinese bed. On some Chinese beds, it is not 
difficult to sleep. I have done so many times. Such a bed is only 
two boards, with a piece of wood or bamboo for a pillow. When 
I first came to China, my bones would ache in the morning, and I 
really would not sleep much, because of turning over so often, 
when I was compelled to sleep on a bed of this kind, which was 
very often, for on the boats, you find nothing else. Now I can 
sleep on these boards and feel rested in the morning, hardly notic- 
ing that they are hard. I have used wooden pillows, bamboo pillows, 
porcelain pillows, and many other kinds. At the chapels, I sleep on 
my canvas cot, which I always carry with me. But that night, try 
as I might, I could not sleep in this Chinese bed. 

I blew out my little lamp wick, and tucked in the mosquito net 
well ; and as I was very tired, the bed felt good. But before I could 
get ofif to dreamland, I felt something crawling on my neck and 
limbs. I told myself that it was only fleas, and determined to go to 
sleep. But the difficulty increased rapidly. Great swellings came on 
my body; and do what I would, I could not quiet my nerves. At 
last, in the darkness, I caught one of the intruders ; and holding it 
close to my nose, I quickly discovered that my bed fellows were not 
fleas, but bedbugs. Perhaps there were a few fleas also. They are 
not so easy to catch, nor so poisonous when they bite. 

I lighted my little lamp wick again, and made a raid on the 
vermin, catching about thirty this first attempt. Then I tried again 
to go to sleep. But the pests returned in greater numbers and re- 
newed their attack. I arose and made another slaughter. Still they 
ivould come ! To make a long story short, I will tell you that before 
two-thirty, I got up twenty-seven times to chase and catch bedbugs ; 
land by actual count, I caught two hundred thirty. If I had con- 
tinued till morning, no knowing how many I might have taken. But 
at two-thirty, I was discouraged. My knees were sore and my back 
[was lame from hunting the creatures over the hard boards. I de- 
spaired of getting any sleep, so arose, dressed, and read a book till 
daybreak. I might more truthfully say, I read when I was not fight- 
ing mosquitoes. This was, I believe, the worst night I ever spent. 







(56) 



CHINESE JUNKS 



1 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 57 

(Another night that I shall never forget, was spent with Brother 
. P. Anderson on a junk boat. If the boat had been moving, we 
hould not have been quite so badly off, for there would then have 
een some breeze. But we were anchored at Sheklung all night, for 
some reason or other. It was right in midsummer, and the heat was 
intense ; but what made us suffer most was the mosquitoes. We had 
no net, and there were millions of them. Finally Brother Anderson 
; and I came to the agreement that I should sit up for an hour and fan 
him while he slept, and then he would sit up an hour and keep the 
mosquitoes off me while I took my turn at sleeping. I think this 
I was number two bad night. 

In China, there are different modes of travel ; but where we are, 
no Pullman cars, automobiles, not even an oxcart. If our destina- 
i tion is on the river, we travel by boat. The large rivers have steam 
i launches and small motor boats. All of them are anything but com- 
i fortable. You sit continually in tobacco and opium smoke, which 
usually makes your head ache. Everyone talks about you aloud, 
thinking you will not understand what they are saying. There are 
no laws about overloading in China, and I have seen people keep 
getting on until the boat sank and many were drowned. There is 
only a narrow plank along the two sides of the boat to walk on. 
This, as a rule, has no railing, so is very dangerous. Such a boat 
would not be permitted to run in other countries. I have seen 
people fall off into the river and be lost. The first thing I think 
about when I board one of these boats is to get a place where I can' 
get out if we are attacked by pirates, or the boat goes down, or 
should a panic be caused in some other manner. 

Every boat carries soldiers as a protection from robbers. The 
bodies and baggage of the passengers are all searched to see if fire- 
arms are secreted on board. Many times the robbers will conceal 
their pistols under their clothing or in the bend of the knee, then 
when the soldiers are asleep, shoot them and rob the passengers. 
Just a few days ago this was done on the river here, the robbers 
getting on at Waichow and shooting the soldiers only about five 
miles above our house. Other thieves were waiting at the spot 
I appointed, to help them carry off the plunder. In some way, these 
I robbers always know when money and rich clothes are on the boat. 



Page 58 AT HOME WITH THE 

When there are no steamboats, we travel on "rice-power" boats. 
The Chinese eat the rice and then develop the power. They pull 
the boat by a long rope as they walk along the bank. This is a very 
slow mode of travel. When there is wind, they use their sails. 
Sometimes we are very crowded in these boats. I have slept many 
nights with my head at the feet of a Chinese, and often I have not 
had room to stretch out at all. I talk and preach to the passengers a 
good deal, and spend much time reading. If I were not very fond 
of books, I do not think I could endure traveling in China. During 
the past twelve years, I have read more than eight hundred good 
books. Sometimes we hire a boat for ourselves alone. This is more 
expensive, but many times more private and comfortable. Wherever 
you go in the country, it is a hard life, and you are glad to get back 
to your home, where there is a mattress on the bed, a rug on the 
floor, a soft chair to sit in, a tablecloth on the table, a tub to bathe in, 
a clean floor to walk on, knives and forks to eat with, and some one 
who speaks English. 

Most of our trips, we take on foot. If the distance is too great, 
or we have walked till we are tired out or our f£et are covered with 
blisters, we take a sedan chair. I have had two men carry me forty 
miles in one day. Coolies will carry our baggage from a pole over 
the shoulder. They will take a hundred pounds at a load and go 
forty miles a day. A chair for forty miles costs about two dollars. I 
have walked twenty or thirty miles a day for several days in succes- 
sion in the hot sun, or sometimes in a downpour of rain. Most of 
the roads in our field go over mountains, and they are paved with 
small cobblestones, which makes walking very tiresome. 

On one trip, two other missionaries were with me visiting the 
outstations in. this field. We had walked a long way, and the poor 
roads were beginning to rip their good shoes up. They had no other 
shoes along, so I invited them to take chairs. They said that was too 
expensive, and decided to try wearing some Chinese grass shoes, 
the kind the coolies use, whose feet are very hard and tough. They 
wore them all day, and made me believe that they were very com- 
fortable; but on arriving at the chapel that night, they could not 
hide either the blisters or the pain in their feet. I smiled at them as 
they sat with their feet immersed in a tub of water. Next morning, 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA Page 59 

their feet were so sore and swollen they could not walk at all, so had 
to ride. They concluded that it did not pay to wear grass shoes to 
save their better ones. 

When I return home from a long trip, Mrs. Nagel always re- 
fuses to let me into the main part of the house with my bedding or 
clothing, for fear I will bring home something that will contaminate 
her clean house. Things are left on the porch until they are sunned, 
and I have a good bath and get into clean clothes. 

I found myself one time, with my family, one hundred and fifty 
miles above Waichow, anxious to get home, but there were no boats 
running down the river. The soldiers had all been called to another 
section of the province, on account of a small revolution; and the 
robbers were in command on the rivers, robbing the boats, and hold- 
ing the passengers for ransom. So no one dared travel, and the boats 
had stopped altogether. I had an appointment at Waichow, as the 
school was closing, and I had promised to be present for that occa- 
sion. A local official warned me that it was dangerous to try to go 
down the river ; but we were tired from our long trip, and felt that 
we must reach home. We were in God's work, and we knew He 
would care for us. 

So I engaged a small boat just large enough for us, and two men 
to row us down the river. We left late, thinking that about mid- 
night we should reach the place where we had been warned there 
were robbers. I told myself that they would be sleeping, and would 
not hear us pass. But at ten o'clock, a voice from the mountain side 
called to us and asked who we were. The boatman could hardly 
find his voice to reply ; and when he did so, they gruffly commanded 
us to pull ashore. This was the first experience of this kind my 
wife had passed through, and she was nervous, but thought more 
of the children than of herself. Would the robbers take the chil- 
dren ? That was the question in her mind. 

The night was very dark, there being no moon. Near the shore, 
they asked again who we were, and what we were doing, going 
down the river so late at night. I took a lamp and held it at the 
rear of the boat, so they could see we were not soldiers, but for- 
eigners, lest they open fire on us ; and then I told them who we were 
and why we were traveling down the river. They made us anchor, 



Page 60 AT HOME WITH THE 

and then said we must stay there till morning, as we could not get 
past farther down. They said we had nothing to fear. 

I talked pleasantly to them, and finally said that we just must 
go on, so as to catch a steamboat in the morning. After a moment's 
counsel, they said for us to go on. But we had gone only a few 
feet when they called us back. I wondered why. This time, they 
came right down to the water's edge, and four of their leaders waded 
out to our boat. They were rough-looking fellows, but were dressed 
in silk. They had excellent firearms. They did not board the boat, 
but they looked in and saw Mrs. Nagel and the two children. Flor- 
ence and Sherman did not wake up through the whole ordeal. 

Finally one said to me : "Pastor Nagel" — for I had told them my 
name — "our business is not good these days ; no boats are running, 
and we have nothing to eat. We would appreciate it if you would 
give us a little tea money." I told them we had very little money 
with us, and if they doubted my word, they were free to come on 
and search for themselves. The chief replied: "Oh, we would not 
dare to come on your. boat! We would be glad if you would only 
give us a little." I gave them two dollars, as I did not feel like 
refusing. They gave me some cigarettes, not knowing that I did 
not smoke ; and they seemed very friendly. 

Then I asked them to give me their card with their password, 
so that I could get by their main camp a few miles farther down the 
river. I told them I did not wish to pay "tea money" there also. 
They talked it over a bit, and then the chief sent me his card, and 
told us we might go on. We breathed a prayer of thanks to God. 
About two hours later we came to their main camp, and there like- 
wise were called to come ashore. Near the bank, after telling them 
who I was and where I was going, I told them I had the card of 
their chief up above; and when they heard that, they said, "Very 
well, go on." We were glad to go on. After we had gone a little 
way, they called to me, and said for me not to report them to the 
magistrates at Waichow, for they had been very good to me. I said 
I would not ; and after traveling two hours longer, we reached the 
city where we could catch a boat for Waichow. We reached home 
the next night, tired but happy, and thankful to God for His care. 



HAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 61 



We have had many such adventures in past years, but have al- 
ways been protected. Last year, we were in a battle for a day and 
a half, with fighting all around us. We were glad we were in a 
charcoal boat, and we made a fort of it. We were shot at several 
times, and our boat was taken to carry soldiers a number of times ; 
but at last, we reached the railroad, and soon were again at home. 
This time, we were traveling in the Swatow field. There are no 
railroads in the Hakka field. When we were so anxious, at every 
shot, little Sonny Boy would crawl under the cot. Once he looked 
up and said, "If we trust God, we are safe anywhere/' And we are. 




ONE METHOD OF TRAVEL — THE HOUSE BOAT 



Page 62 AT HOME WITH THE 

CHAPTER NINE 
Our Mission Work 

IN closing this little book, I must tell you of the several kinds of 
mission work we carry on for this people. Our work has many \ 
departments, and God needs men and women to labor in each line. I 
Of first importance, we must have in China many more evangelists, — j 
men who will learn the language, and with a love for souls, under 
the power of the Holy Spirit, give themselves to traveling here and ' 
there preaching the message. Like Paul, they are apostles ; and like 
him, though they meet many hardships, they will at last receive a 
splendid reward, and for all eternity rejoice with those whom they 
have won to Christ. 

Some of you must study to be mission teachers. We need many\ j 
more of these, both men and women. Upon them, largely, will fall ^ 
the heavy responsibility of training many native preachers and 
teachers, who will, in turn, labor for their own people. 

Then a few of you must become doctors. A knowledge of medi-1 
cine is a great help to a real missionary. By ministering to the^ 
body, he finds opportunity to reach the soul. 

We must have also young men who will learn the language and 
then go out to sell our message-filled books and papers. The publish- 
ing work is making great strides in China. These men must show 
our Chinese boys how to sell our literature. This is one of our 
greatest needs. 

Last but not least, we must have many more consecrated young 
women to work for the women of China, and teach our girls' schools 
These Bible women can come close to the people, for they reach the 
homes. I hope many of our young ladies will feel a call to give 
themselves to this work. 

I almost forgot one other need. We must have young men who 
are missionaries at heart, to be mission treasurers, — men who will 
look after mission funds in a consecrated manner, and keep the 
accounts of the workers. So some of you must study bookkeeping 
and business methods. But let me again state that all who come out 



IAKKAS IN SOUTH CHINA 



Page 63 



3 do this line of work should be earnest Christians, and first, last, 
nd all the time, missionaries who love lost men and women and 
/ho are willing to help them to a knowledge of salvation. 

All should have studied long in the school of patience. China 
3 no place to come to learn patience. Each one should learn to con- 
rol his tongue, to think calmly, to be considerate of others and 
ympathetic toward all. Missionaries should be able to put to use 




CANDIDATES FOR BAPTISM 



ill the knowledge they possess. It will do you no good to have been 
'the brightest boy in school," if you cannot tell what you know. 
Dne other qualification of great importance is sociability. Mission- 
tries will never be successful if they shut themselves away from 
yerybody. To have friends, we must be friendly. We must mix 
4ith people if we wish to win them to Jesus. 

We must have the best qualified, most talented, most conse- 
nted young men and women from the home field. I read, the other 
ay, of an old minister who said to a young man just ready to sail 
or China : "I am surprised to think of your going to China. Why, 
fou would do well at home!" I want to tell you that that old 
brother had a wrong idea of this work altogether. We need the best 
>ver here. I believe that all the workers sent out to heathen lands 
hould have a trial and be tested out before they are sent. 

We have many things to praise God for as we see how rapidly 
he work has grown. We have been working in Asia twenty years 
>nly ; but during this time, we have grown faster, much faster, than 



Page 64 AT HOME WITH THE HAKKAS 



during the first twenty years of labor in America, Europe, or South 
America. We have now in all Asia about eight thousand Sabbath 
keepers. In our Sabbath schools, there are over eleven thousand. 
We have eighty-seven ordained ministers and one hundred eighty- 
two licentiates. But we need many times that number to man the 
field properly. In my own corner, last year was the best we have 
had. I baptized two hundred and twelve Hakkas. 

What can you do to help while you are yet young and getting 
your preparation ? You can study missions. Learn all you can about 
the dark corners of earth. Jesus will not come until the work is 
finished in all these lands. Determine to give yourself to work for 
God where the need is greatest, where the laborers are fewest.^ 
Every day, when you pray — and you 'must early form the habit 
of praying often — remember to ask God to bless the work anc 
workers in heathen lands. Do missionary work where you are 
Help whenever a need presents itself. Learn to know how to dc 
all kinds of manual work. A missionary must know how to builc 
houses, make garden, do plumbing, and many other things. Per 
haps you will be alone, as we were for years, and must be preache 
teacher, doctor, and bookkeeper. The more practical knowledg 
you have, the better. 

Learn how to use your mind, to think. Have ideas. Determm 
never to stop studying. Don't waste your time on worthless books 
Read that which will build you up. Study character ; many peopl 
are a failure because they do not know men. 

Then you can give your pennies, nickels, dimes, and dollars t< 
help send the gospel to these lands. Learn to sacrifice when yo^ 
are young. Just think what it means to have been born in a Chines 
home. Suppose you had been born there. Would you not than 
some one for bringing to you the gospel? The Chinese are you 
near neighbors. Their land touches yours on the under side, 
have tried to tell you something about them. Others will tell yo 
what I have not. May God help many of you, as you finish reac 
ing this little book, to go to some quiet spot alone with Him, an 
there promise Him that if it be His will, you will go to needy Chin; 
to help win these bright boys and girls to shine as stars forever i 
the Saviour's crown. 



A BOOK A WEEK — TRY THIS PLAN — READ A BOOK A WEEK 

> 

TRY THIS PLAN 



TpORM a Read-Aloud Club in your home. 
A Get father, mother, and all to join. The 
club might have a few rules to govern its af- 
fairs. One should be the reading of an entire 
book every week, or perhaps every two weeks. 
This rule could be adhered to strictly if such 
books as the Mission Series are used. Few of 
them contain more than 300 pages. They are 
so thrillingly interesting you would find it hard 
to close the book and go to bed. So, you see, 
it would be quite easy to read a book a week. 

A fine thing about these boots is the fact 
that eight-year-old Jimmy can enjoy them quite 
as much as eighty-year-old grandpa. 

Think of the happy hours spent in this way, 
of the profitable comment and discussion be- 
tween times, to say nothing of the mass of 
knowledge thus gained! 

Talk it over with father and mother, and 
start a club at once, even if you are the only 
member. 

A suggested list, with postpaid prices : "Es- 
cape from Siberian Exile" ($1.25), "Strange 
Peoples and Customs" ($1.25), "With Our 
Missionaries in China" ($1.00), "In the Land 
of the Incas" ($1.00), "On the Trail of Living- 
stone" ($1.00), "The Advance Guard of 
Missions" ($1.00), "Fruit from the Jungle" 
($1.00). (Higher in Canada.) 

Your tract society secretary will be 

glad to learn oi your intention to 

form a Read-Aloud Club. 



READ A BOOK A WEEK 

> 
d 

*EAD A BOOK A WEEK — TRY THIS PLAN — READ A BOOK A WEEK 




"A queer place for a nest," do you say? 

Well, so it is. And many odier strange and 

amusing occurrences are related in the book 

entitled 



ELO 

THE 

TSF EAGLE 



AND OTHER STORIES 

And best of all is that they 
are real, true stories of live 
animals, birds, etc., that 
were boyhood friends of the author. The stories are in- 
tensely interesting and instructive, and told in an enter- 
taining manner. 

There are ten stories in all. The subjects are as fol- 
lows : Elo the Eagle ; Lady Betty the Quail ; Jonah the 
Barred Owl ; Joe the Blue Jay ; Father Screech-Owl ; 
Frank the Collie; The Coyote, the Last of a Hated Race; 
Dick the Black Bear ; Boblets the Meadow Mouse ; Sober- 
sides the Toad. Each story is introduced by a handsome 
portrait of the "hero," printed in 
glossy luxotype, and is illustrated 
throughout with drawings made es- 
pecially for this book. 



Cloth 



200 pages $1.00 

(Higher in Canada) 



PACIFIC PRESS PUB. ASSN. 
Mountain View, California 



Kansas City, Missouri 
St. Paul, Minnesota 



Portland, Oregon 
Cristobal, Canal Zone 




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